📝116: AI > Memecoins

Bank of America to launch stablecoin. Circle attacks Tether. Microsoft & AWS both launch quantum chip. SEC on memecoins. Citatel enters crypto. Claude Sonnet 3.7 launched. OpenAI announces GPT-4.5.

👋 Hey, it’s Marc.

Pulse check live from ETH Denver: Incredible builder activity. AI (agents, DeAI infrastructure) with oversized mindshare. No talk about price (obviously). No one cares about memecoins and NFTs. All major VCs and chains present.

Big news: we’re launching the beta of our AI agent intelligence platform. If you want early access (and you should), join the waitlist.

What you shouldn’t miss: Yesterday, the SEC decided memecoins aren’t securities — for now.

As, Bank of America is quietly prepping a USD-pegged stablecoin, supply just hit $227B (ATH). And the heat is on. Circle wants all stablecoin issuers to register stateside, while Tether — sitting on $115B in U.S. Treasuries — says it’s being unfairly targeted.

What they’re saying: Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States, says:

“The Federal Reserve definitely supports efforts to create a regulatory framework around stablecoins. They may have a big future with consumers and businesses, and it’s important that stablecoins develop in a manner that protects consumers and savers, that there be a regulatory framework.”

On the AI front: CoreWeave, the cloud computing provider, is apparently rushing to an IPO aiming to raise $4B at a valuation of $35B. Overvalued? Maybe.

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This week’s question:

📚 Our Top Reads This Week

• AI x Crypto Investment Thesis 2025. Cyber Fund. Link

• AI Promise and Chip Precariousness. Stratechery. Link

• How Brands Can Win in Virtual Worlds [Podcast]. Link

• Winning the Next Era of Payments. 51 Insights. Link

• The Stablecoin Future. All in Podcast. Link

• Stablecoins round up: Ethena, USDC, Ripple USD, USDT & fastUSD. Link

• The Geopolitical Shift: Localization, Protectionism, and the New Investment Playbook. Maja Vujinovic. Link

• Stablecoins: Leapfrogging Africa’s Financial System. Hashed Emergent. Link

• Everything that happened in AI this week. Link

Bank of America’s Stablecoin Play

Bank of America (BoA), the second-largest bank in the US, plans to introduce a stablecoin tied to the US dollar, waiting for the regulatory green light.

Why it matters: When the second-largest U.S. bank starts playing in stablecoin land, you know things are getting serious.

Zooming in: Unlike crypto-native stablecoins (e.g., Tether’s USDT, Circle’s USDC), BoA’s offering leverages its 100M+ customer base and regulatory compliance infrastructure, appealing to risk-averse users. It already processes $3T/year digitally and holds blockchain patents, ensuring rapid deployment post-approval.

Regulatory Tailwinds: Current rules bar banks from issuing stablecoins, but bipartisan legislative efforts (e.g., the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act) could unlock this by 2025.

With BoA’s entry, institutional players may prefer bank-backed coins for audits and liquidity assurance. It may also impact the stablecoin strategy of JP Morgan (JPM Coin) and Citi.

Also: MEXC is investing $20M in USDe—a digital coin pegged to the US dollar by Ethena Labs.

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• 70K+ B2B business leaders & direct corporate access to get in front of decision-makers.

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Clients include: Avalanche, MoonPay, Near Foundation, and others.

The AI Quantum Race

This week, Microsoft introduced Majorana 1 [announcement], and Amazon Web Service (AWS) introduced its first quantum chip, Ocelot [announcement] and entered the $50B quantum market.

In December 2024, Google introduced Willow, the fastest computing chip. [Analysis]

What you should know:

• Microsoft’s Majorana 1: It builds error-resistant qubits, like shock absorbers for quantum tech—potentially a game-changer, just as computers led to smartphones.

  • Tech: Uses topological qubits (error-resistant by design) via exotic Majorana particles

  • Scale: Claims a clear path to 1M qubits on a palm-sized chip

  • Edge: Digital control (like a light switch) simplifies operations vs. today’s finicky analog systems

  • Goal: Solve industrial problems (e.g., microplastics cleanup, self-healing materials) in years

• AWS’s Ocelot: Its “cat qubits” slash error correction costs by 90%, making quantum computing more efficient and affordable.

  • Tech: Relies on cat qubits (error suppression built-in)

  • Scale: Uses standard microchip tech for scalable, low-cost manufacturing

  • Edge: Prototype already integrates error correction, aiming for 5-year acceleration to practical quantum

  • Goal: Fast-track drug discovery, climate modeling, and financial risk analysis

Punchline: The race isn’t about qubit counts—it’s about error-corrected scalability. Microsoft and AWS are betting on new physics (Majoranas/cat qubits) to leapfrog Google’s early lead.

How these chips coexist with Willow:

🚨 Other Highlights You Can’t Miss

• Claude 3.7 Sonnet is available on Google Cloud’s Vertex AI Model Garden. Link

• OpenAI announces GPT-4.5. Link

• Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) approved USDC and EURC. Link

• Citadel Securities enters crypto trading. Link

• Hamster Kombat launches gaming Layer-2 on TON. Link

• Solana's first ETF made its debut on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC).

👉 Keep up with all our signals for Web3 execs on our Telegram channel.

💰 Money Moves

• Ethena: Stablecoin company raised $100M led by Franklin Templeton Investments. Link

• Bitwise: Crypto Index Fund & ETF Provider raised $70M led by Electric Capital. Link

• Raise: Crypto reward app raised $63M led by Haun Ventures. Link

That’s all for now, folks.

Talk soon,

– Marc & Team

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