Quick Summary: The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on regulating tokenized securities as lawmakers and the SEC treat the issue as an inevitable priority. The question of how to regulate securities traded on a blockchain is gaining significant traction among U.S. lawmakers and financial regulators. While many details remain unresolved, there appears to be broad agreement in Washington that tokenized securities will require a formal regulatory framework. The issue is being treated as an inevitability rather than a distant possibility.The House Financial Services Committee convened a hearing on Wednesday to examine the subject in depth. The session reflects…
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Quick Summary: Franklin Templeton and Ondo Finance are joining forces to bring tokenized versions of five ETFs to blockchain-based wallets for non-U.S. users. Franklin Templeton and real-world asset tokenization firm Ondo Finance have announced a collaboration to offer tokenized versions of five Franklin Templeton exchange-traded funds. The partnership, revealed on Wednesday, aims to give users without traditional brokerage accounts access to these investment products. Trading will be available around the clock through digital wallets.The five funds involved in the initiative include Franklin Templeton’s high-yield corporate ETF, its focused growth ETF, and its responsibly sourced gold ETF, among others. The tokenized…
Quick Summary: Startale Group has closed a $63 million Series A round led by SBI Group and Sony Innovation Fund to expand its blockchain products. Startale Group has secured $63 million in a Series A funding round, with participation from SBI Group and Sony Innovation Fund. The Singapore-based company develops blockchain infrastructure targeting both financial institutions and everyday consumers. The raise marks a significant milestone for the firm as it looks to broaden its suite of products and services.Startale builds a range of blockchain tools designed to serve financial firms alongside retail users. Its offerings include a blockchain tailored for…
Quick Summary: Visa is joining the Canton Network as its first major global payments company to serve as a Super Validator, supporting privacy-focused blockchain for banks. Visa has announced it will join the Canton Network as the first major global payments company to serve as a Super Validator on the platform. The company will be one of 40 Super Validators on the layer-1 network, applying the same operational standards it uses to run its existing payment infrastructure. The move is aimed at extending privacy-preserving blockchain capabilities to banks and financial institutions around the world.As a Super Validator, Visa will hold…
Quick Summary: SBI Group has completed Startale’s $63 million Series A with a $50 million investment to scale tokenized securities, stablecoins and consumer apps. Startale Group announced on Wednesday that SBI Group has invested $50 million to complete the company’s Series A funding round. The Japanese blockchain firm is developing infrastructure for tokenized securities, stablecoins and consumer-facing onchain products. The investment brings Startale’s total Series A to $63 million, following a $13 million first close led by Sony Innovation Fund in January.According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph, the capital will be used to scale several core products. These…
Quick Summary: Bitmine Immersion Technologies has opened its proprietary Ethereum staking platform MAVAN to institutional clients, targeting up to $300 million in annual rewards. Bitmine Immersion Technologies has launched MAVAN, short for Made in America Validator Network, an institutional-grade Ethereum staking platform designed to manage validator infrastructure for both the company’s own holdings and external clients. Staking involves locking up Ether to support transaction validation on the network in return for yield-based rewards. The platform was originally built to serve Bitmine’s internal Ethereum treasury before being opened to outside participants.Bitmine holds the distinction of being the largest public company holder…
Quick Summary: President Trump has appointed 13 members from the tech, crypto, and AI sectors to his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. President Donald Trump has announced the appointment of 13 individuals from the technology, cryptocurrency, blockchain, and artificial intelligence industries to his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. The council was re-established through an executive order in January 2025 and is designed to advise the president on science, technology, education, and innovation policy. The White House made the announcement in a notice issued on Wednesday, confirming the council could ultimately include up to 24 members, with…
Quick Summary: Framework Ventures-backed incubator Obex is deploying $1 billion to connect Sky’s USDS stablecoin to income from AI data centers, housing, and energy. Obex, an incubator supported by Framework Ventures, is deploying $1 billion with the goal of connecting Sky’s USDS stablecoin to revenue streams generated by real-world assets. The targeted sectors include AI data centers, housing, and energy infrastructure. The initiative represents a significant push to bridge decentralized finance with traditional industries.An initial group of partners has been announced to support the effort, spanning multiple sectors of both crypto and conventional finance. These include Maple, USD.ai, Daylight, Centrifuge,…
Quick Summary: The Solana Foundation says its network has processed 15 million on-chain agent payments, with stablecoins becoming the default rail for AI-driven services. The Solana Foundation has announced that its network has already processed 15 million on-chain payments made by AI agents, marking a notable milestone in the intersection of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. Stablecoins have emerged as the preferred payment mechanism for AI-driven compute resources and services on the network. The foundation views this development as an early indicator of a broader shift in how digital transactions may be conducted in the future.According to the foundation, agentic…
Quick Summary: Bernstein analysts argue Circle’s core reserve income is unaffected by the CLARITY Act, calling Tuesday’s 20% share drop an overcorrection. Bernstein analysts say markets overreacted to proposed stablecoin legislation on Tuesday, arguing that a sharp sell-off in Circle shares failed to account for a key distinction in how the draft law is structured. In a note to clients, analysts Gautam Chhugani, Mahika Sapra, Sanskar Chindalia, and Harsh Misra contend that investors conflated two separate concepts: who earns yield and who distributes it. The analysts summarized the distinction plainly, writing that Circle earns while Coinbase distributes.The proposed CLARITY Act…
