139: Crypto’s $8T unlock
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Digital asset treasuries companies (DATCOs) are exploding. This is why Standard Chartered sees more upside in public companies holding Ethereum than in ETFs, as investors get direct exposure plus yield. Just last week:
Bitcoin:
Japan’s Metaplanet adds 463 BTC, raising its total to 17,595 BTC ($1.78B)
Parataxis aims to raise $640M to build a BTC treasury (U.S. and South Korea)
Satsuma secures $218M to grow its decentralized AI and BTC treasury
Vaultz Capital purchases nearly 48 BTC to grow its treasury to 118 BTC
Ethereum:
BitMine now holds 833,000 ETH, the largest corporate ETH treasury
SharpLink adds 83,561 ETH last week, holding near $1.9B
Cosmos Health raises $300M to build ETH treasury
FG Nexus secures $200M to build an ETH treasury
Unitronix Corp. expands to ETH along with BTC its digital asset treasury
Also, our highlights this week:
The US just unlocked $8T in 401(k) retirement money for crypto
China is developing a yuan-backed stablecoin via Hong Kong
Anchorage and Ethena launch first GENIUS-compliant stablecoin
Metamask plans to launch a stablecoin “Metamask USD” issued by Stripe
Ripple acquires Rail to enter B2B enterprise payments
And much more.
🚨Save your spot for our upcoming stablecoin webinar!
We’ll unpack how fintechs, corporates, and startups are leveraging stablecoin rails to unlock new yield, liquidity, and operational efficiency. Spots are limited!
Top Boardroom Reads This Week
Digital Assets
The Rise of Digital Asset Treasury Companies (DATCOs) (Galaxy)
Stablecoins: The new generation of financial infrastructure (Barclays)
Stablecoins Could Become One Of The US Government’s Most Resilient Financial Allies (Ark invest)
Beyond Stablecoins: The Case for Ethereum (Electric Capital)
Ethereum Turns 10 (Pantera)
When to flip the fee switch (a16z crypto)
Will data centers crash the economy? (Noahpinion)
AI
The economics of superintelligence (The Economist)
The Path to Medical Superintelligence (Microsoft)
GPT-5 Hands-On: Welcome to the Stone Age (Latent Space)
Mag 7 AI Infrastructure Spend bending Business Models (Reset to Zero)
The Rise of the Agentic Workforce (Prosus)
The economics of superintelligence (The Economist)
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The US just unlocked $8T in retirement money for crypto
What happened: The Department of Labor just approved a rule letting 90M U.S. 401(k) participants invest in crypto, private equity, real estate, and other alternative assets. Until now, retirement plans were limited to stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Now BTC, ETH, tokenized real estate, and PE funds can sit next to the S&P 500 in your portfolio. [ANALYSIS]
Why it matters:
$8T is sitting in U.S. retirement accounts
Just 1% into crypto = $80B in new demand (more than all BTC ETF inflows YTD)
Opens the floodgates for private equity and real estate managers — the “holy grail” of retail capital access
What they’re saying:
“Crypto’s bull market is being fueled by new investor access — from 401(k)s to treasury companies and ETFs. Bitcoin is the hedge, Ethereum is the base layer for stablecoins and tokenization. That wave is about to break.”
— Maja Vujinovic, CEO, FG Nexus
Punchline: This is the final legitimization of crypto in traditional finance. When your grandmother can buy Bitcoin through her company 401(k), the game has changed.
Ripple’s $200M bet on enterprise payments
Ripple is acquiring stablecoin payments platform Rail for $200M to dominate enterprise-ready crypto payments. Rail’s API-first stack brings virtual IBANs, automated treasury tools, and stablecoin on/off-ramps into Ripple’s already licensed, liquidity-rich platform. Combined, they offer one of the only full-stack solutions for B2B global payments. [PRESS RELEASE]
So what? Rail’s virtual accounts let companies transact with stablecoins without holding crypto. With Ripple’s competiton to platforms like BVNK, Stripe and Circle, it provides it an edge with robust payment backend with compliance baked in.
👉 We are going to release another flagship report on stablecoins. Want to partner & expose yourself to 200k+ digital asset leaders? Reach out.
Hong Kong rewrote the Stablecoin playbook
What happened: Hong Kong Monetary Authority kicks off Asia’s toughest stablecoin regime, forcing issuers to hold $3.2M in capital, maintain 1:1 reserves, and offer guaranteed redemptions. Starting August 1, all stablecoin issuers operating in or marketing to Hong Kong must be licensed under a new regulatory regime that demands a minimum HKD 25M (~$3.2M) in capital, high-quality reserve asset backing, and real-time redemption rights. [SEE FULL DETAILS]
So what? This marks the most comprehensive stablecoin regulation in Asia, setting a global benchmark for fiat-backed token oversight. It is a full-stack compliance regime with criminal penalties for unlicensed issuance or false advertising.
Chainlink introduces LINK token reserve
Chainlink just launched the Chainlink Reserve: a smart contract storing LINK accumulated via both onchain services and enterprise contracts. The mechanism? Infrastructure that lets enterprises pay in stablecoins or gas tokens, which Chainlink auto-converts to LINK using Uniswap and CCIP. Over $1M has already been locked in the Reserve. [ANNOUNCEMENT]
So what? Chainlink is turning revenue into token demand, reducing circulating supply without relying on inflationary emissions. For enterprises exploring tokenized infrastructure, this is a masterclass in protocol monetization.
Vietnam goes all-in on blockchain infrastructure
Vietnam launches NDAChain, a state-backed Layer 1 for digital ID, traceability, and trust—powered by 49 government and corporate validators. Built with ZKPs, PoA consensus, and GDPR-grade privacy, it targets high-risk sectors like healthcare and logistics. Nationwide rollout set for 2026. [NEWS]
So what? Vietnam is the first Southeast Asian government to launch a production-grade L1 chain at national scale. Unlike Buenos Aires’ Web3 wallet rollout and indentity, Vietnam is building from Layer 1 up — targeting data integrity, authentication, and digital identity in one stroke.
News Flash
Anchorage, Ethena launch first GENIUS-compliant stablecoin for institutions. Link
Neobank Slash debuts USDSL, backed by USDC & U.S. Treasuries. Link
Bullish targets $4.23B IPO to raise $630M after failed SPAC. Link
MoonPay and Axal launch virtual bank accounts with up to 10% APY. Link
Brazil to debate $15B Bitcoin reserve as sovereign diversification strategy. Link
Kraken will launch brokerage, custody and embed solutions for institutions. Link
G-SHOCK enters metaverse with NFT avatars in The Sandbox. Link
Dubai-issued crypto licenses can now operate across the UAE after compliance checks. Link
CEA Industries raises $500M to adopt BNB as treasury reserve asset. Link
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That’s all for now, folks.
Take care
– Marc & Team
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Really smooth with the polls
In the internet’s new financial system, yields are set on-chain — not by central banks. And when credit demand rises, the market will bid for the hardest, most trust-minimized asset it can find.
I call it the Collateral Gravity Well and it’s already pulling Bitcoin into the role U.S. Treasuries once played.
This shift is small now, but our models show how a tiny percentage change in Bitcoin’s use as collateral could unleash outsized price repricing.
Read the full breakdown here: https://wallstcp.substack.com/p/the-collateral-gravity-well?r=4tn15z