Welcome to this week’s Crypto Weekly Digest – where TradFi meets DeFi, and everything in between gets tokenized. ✨
From Ripple’s quest for a bank charter to Deutsche Bank’s euro-stablecoin debut and a $250M RWA splash by Ondo and Pantera, the lines between institutions and blockchains are getting blurrier by the block. We’ve also got MiCA moves, Coinbase acquisitions, gaming on Tezos, and ChatGPT turning into your favorite study buddy.
Oh, and yes—someone’s tokenizing tourism in Bhutan. Buckle up, this one’s packed. 🚀
Ripple has filed for a U.S. banking license, aiming to become a full-on crypto-native financial institution. It’s hoping to join the big leagues with Circle and Anchorage, giving its stablecoin RLUSD some serious institutional street cred.
If approved, Ripple could access the Federal Reserve directly—imagine stablecoins with 24/7 central bank rails. This is Ripple saying, “we don’t just want to play nice with regulators, we want a seat at the grown-up table.” It’s a bold move toward TradFi territory. 🏛️
June was hot for crypto funding, even if the hype has cooled. Yupp and Units Network are making Web3 more social and modular, while Frachtis launched a $20M fund targeting DeFi and AI convergence.
Beam secured $7M to improve cross-border stablecoin payments, and Gradient Network is taking AI infrastructure on-chain. Rails raised $20M to build a hybrid trading platform, while Inference Labs and Story are merging AI with decentralized creativity. Blueprint Finance wants to tame yield farming with smarter tools. DeFi’s not dead—it’s just leveling up. 💼
A new euro stablecoin called AllUnity has been approved, backed by Deutsche Bank’s asset arm DWS. It’ll launch on Ethereum and is meant for business payments with full regulatory compliance.
This isn’t your average stablecoin startup—it’s TradFi with a token. As the euro enters the digital era, AllUnity could give European businesses their own on-chain euro option. A stablecoin wearing a suit and tie. 🧾
The European Central Bank is building a “two-track” system to settle transactions—classic infrastructure for now, and a blockchain-friendly route for the future. One side sticks with old-school rails, the other welcomes tokenized assets and CBDCs.
It’s the ECB’s way of saying “yes” to innovation but “slowly, please.” DeFi isn’t replacing TradFi yet—but it’s definitely renting a room in its house. 🛠️
Coinbase just acquired LiquiFi, a platform that manages tokenized compensation and vesting for employees.
It’s HR meets Web3, making payroll smoother for crypto-native companies. Instead of spreadsheets and headaches, now you get smart contracts that know when to release your tokens. Coinbase is clearly building the back-office of the crypto future. 📊
Ondo Finance and Pantera Capital are going all-in on tokenized Treasurys and bonds with a $250M investment. Why hold dusty paper when you can own real assets on-chain with instant liquidity? It’s TradFi, but reborn in DeFi fashion. These aren’t JPEGs—they’re yield-bearing government assets in crypto form. Risk-adjusted alpha, but make it Web3. 💸
JPMorgan says the line between DeFi and TradFi is fading fast, especially as banks explore tokenized assets and blockchain settlements. Their Onyx platform already does some of this. Institutions aren’t running from crypto—they’re studying it, testing it, and slowly hugging it. TradFi’s stiff collar just loosened a bit. 👔
Brazil’s top exchange, Mercado Bitcoin, is putting $200M in real-world assets like bonds and funds on the XRP Ledger. It’s a huge leap in Latin America’s push to modernize finance through tokenization. With low fees and fast finality, XRPL’s tech is ready for prime time. Tokenized debt—now that’s a plot twist. 📜
Ondo Finance isn’t just building bridges—it’s buying them. The DeFi-native firm has officially acquired Oasis Pro, a U.S.-regulated trading platform for digital securities. This bold move gives Ondo a major strategic advantage in the fast-growing world of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), especially for institutional investors who want compliance without sacrificing innovation. Now, instead of just wrapping U.S. Treasurys in smart contracts, they can also facilitate legal secondary trading on a licensed platform.
It’s like TradFi and DeFi just signed a prenup—with real lawyers involved. With this deal, Ondo positions itself as a full-stack powerhouse in the RWA space: from asset origination to compliant trading. This could mark the beginning of a new era where serious institutions can finally dip their toes into decentralized finance—without the SEC breathing down their neck. ⚖️
dEURO is here—and it’s euro-pegged, DAO-governed, and built for people who don’t want banks in the loop.
Launched by Cake Wallet on Polygon, this stablecoin is a community-run alternative to institutional coins. No middlemen, just math and code. Croissants not included. 🥐
OKX and Bybit just launched new platforms tailored for Europe’s MiCA regulations. OKX set up shop in Lithuania, Bybit in the Netherlands. It’s a strategic play to stay ahead of Europe’s tightening crypto rules.
No one wants to get caught out when MiCA fully drops. These exchanges are getting their legal ducks in a row early. 🦆
John Smedley—the guy behind EverQuest—is back with a new studio, DPS Games, and just raised $30.5M to build a Web3 shooter called Reaper on Etherlink, Tezos' L2.
This isn’t your average “play-to-earn” clickfest—this one's got real game dev chops and plans to onboard non-crypto gamers too. Players can go fully blockchain or just play casually without touching wallets. Think Call of Duty, but your skins actually belong to you. GG, Smedley. 🎯
Jack Dorsey’s new app BitChat is basically the walkie-talkie of Web3—no internet, no servers, just pure peer-to-peer messaging via Bluetooth. Built on Nostr and designed for full decentralization, it’s great for off-grid chatting, protests, or zombie apocalypses. Imagine Telegram, but you can use it in the woods. It’s a message relay, not a moon mission—but for privacy freaks, it’s pure gold. 📲
Binance Pay teamed up with Lyzi to bring crypto payments to over 300 shops, restaurants—even local taxes—in the glitzy French Riviera. Imagine paying for wine, cheese, or sunglasses in Bitcoin under the Nice sun. It’s another step in real-world adoption—because what’s the point of hodling if you can’t flex it at the beach? Très bien. 🥖
Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin supports EIP-7983, which proposes a gas cap on calldata per block to keep Ethereum lean and mean. It’s a preventative move to keep the network from choking on Layer 2 spam.
Less data per block = fewer surprise gas spikes. It won’t solve everything, but it’s one more tweak toward scalability. 🧪
GPU cloud powerhouse CoreWeave is acquiring bankrupt Bitcoin miner Core Scientific in a $1.6B deal—and they’re turning those mining rigs into AI data centers.
Forget mining Bitcoin, they’re now mining intelligence. With demand for AI infrastructure exploding, this might be the smartest pivot since Netflix ditched DVDs. 🧠
Bhutan, famous for Gross National Happiness and mountains, is going digital with Binance’s help. They’re exploring crypto-powered tourism—tokenized travel, digital payments, and maybe NFTs with yaks on them.
It’s a way to modernize the economy without losing their chill, nature-first culture. Zen and the art of blockchain maintenance. 🏞️
Turkey’s at it again—blocking PancakeSwap and several other DeFi platforms, with no clear reason other than “regulatory caution.”
Turkish crypto fans are now turning to VPNs and complaining on Twitter. It’s not a total ban on crypto, but it sure makes DeFi feel...defied. 🔐
Hong Kong is doubling down on blockchain finance with plans to issue more tokenized government bonds.
After a successful trial last year, the city’s regulators are ready to scale. It's a clear push to make Hong Kong the tokenization hub of Asia. TradFi is putting on its Web3 suit. 👔
Japanese firm Metaplanet is going full Bitcoin-maxi, acquiring a digital bank to better control its BTC-fueled corporate strategy.
It’s like MicroStrategy, but instead of holding Bitcoin, they’re also building the plumbing. This is what happens when hodlers get into mergers and acquisitions. 🔄
Vitalik says open-source devs in Web3 should use copyleft licenses like GPL to keep code free for everyone.
Otherwise, big corps can take it, lock it, and profit without giving back. He’s pushing for a “share-alike” movement in crypto, where innovation stays public. Open-source, but with claws. 🐾
Circle’s USDC is still losing ground to Tether’s USDT, especially in global payments.
Even with big-name partnerships and regulatory clarity, it’s just not winning the adoption race. Tether keeps dominating where liquidity matters most. The stablecoin war isn’t over—but USDC’s crown is slipping. 🪙
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is trying something new—and kinda wholesome—with a feature called “Study Together.”
Think of it like a virtual study buddy who doesn’t eat your snacks or ask dumb questions. It appears to let users co-learn in real time with help from the chatbot.
Details are hush-hush, but it hints at collaborative prompts, shared sessions, or maybe even live group tutoring. Is ChatGPT about to become your smartest (and most patient) study pal? Group chats just got way more productive. 📚
A new $34M fund called “The Council” has launched, and it’s exclusively for Y Combinator alumni startups. What’s even cooler?
It was built by YC alums and backed by current YC head Garry Tan. Think of it as a startup clubhouse with a credit card—and a powerful network. The goal: back founders early, fast, and with people who “get it.” It’s YC for YC, by YC. 🧬
Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) is experimenting with letting AI write Community Notes—those fact-checking blurbs under spicy posts. AI-generated notes are currently being tested by a few bot accounts, and early feedback is... cautious.
On one hand, it could scale moderation. On the other, do we want bots fact-checking people? It’s Twitter’s version of “Hey ChatGPT, was that tweet misleading?” Let’s hope the bots aren’t too sarcastic. 📝
Grammar nerds and email speedsters, unite! Grammarly just bought Superhuman, the beloved AI email client known for its speed and shortcuts. The combo promises to make writing, sending, and perfecting emails totally seamless. Imagine typo-free emails written in record time—basically the Ferrari of your inbox. For knowledge workers, this is productivity on steroids. ✉️
French IT giant Capgemini is acquiring WNS, a global business transformation firm, for $3.3 billion. This deal is all about boosting Capgemini’s presence in AI-powered consulting and digital operations. Think AI meets outsourcing, with a French accent. It’s one of the biggest tech M&A moves in Europe this year, and it signals that “transformation” is still very much in fashion. 💼
Dexter Energy, a Netherlands-based climate tech startup, just raised €23 million to help power companies reduce emissions using AI. Their platform predicts energy demand with pinpoint accuracy, helping grids stay green and efficient. The goal? Smarter energy = less waste = happier planet. With Europe pushing for carbon reduction, this kind of clean tech couldn’t be more timely. 🌍
That’s a wrap on another week of crypto, capital, and a bit of chaos. 🎬🌐
Whether it’s billion-dollar AI pivots 🧠, smart contracts replacing spreadsheets 📊, or Bluetooth-powered blockchain messaging (hi Jack Dorsey 👋📡), one thing’s clear: Web3 isn’t slowing down—it’s evolving. Thanks for reading, and if your gas fees are low ⛽ and your bags are green 💼🟢, consider it a good week. See you in the next block! ⛓️✨
