Hey, it’s Marc & the 51 team.
The SEC did something this week that people will look back on.
They issued a 68-page joint interpretation on token classifications together with the CFTC, for the first time in 183 years of combined existence.
Chairman Atkins proposed a principles-based framework, replacing stock-market checklists with broad standards like disclosure and investor protection.
Director Moloney declared the end of the Howey Test for crypto, the 80-year-old standard used to classify tokens as securities, proposing a tailored registration path for digital assets instead.
Folks, let’s be real: If you've spent any time in crypto regulation, you know that these moves are a breakthrough.
Here are the highlights this week:
SEC approves Nasdaq’s plan to trade tokenized securities.
HSBC and Standard Chartered received Hong Kong’s first stablecoin licenses
Mastercard agreed to acquire BVNK for 1.8 billion
Figure launched private credit infrastructure on-chain with Apollo and Pantera
ICE (NYSE’s parent) launched a private credit intelligence platform with Apollo as anchor partner.
Morgan Stanley filed an amended S-1 for a spot Bitcoin ETF on NYSE Arca.
Flow Traders launched a 24/7 OTC desk for tokenized assets, including Franklin Templeton’s BENJI and Tether Gold.
and much more. Let’s jump in 👇
🎙️ Bonus: We also spoke with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce about crypto’s new rules, and she had some surprising things to say. “I apologize”, listen to the full conversation 👇
Top Boardroom Reads
“I apologize”, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce on Crypto’s New Rules (51 Insights)
Building the Path Towards Digital Asset Securities Operability (Clearstream / DTCC / Euroclear)
Making the Case for Tokenized Collateral (Nasdaq & The ValueExchange)
State of tokenized Gold (Animoca brands)
Paving the Way for a Future‑Ready, Integrated Financial Ecosystem(ECB)
The Friday newsletter only scratches the surface. A lot more is going on that we’ll tell you in our PRO briefings.
Top Signals This Week
SEC and CFTC jointly define what a security is, and what it isn’t
The SEC and CFTC issued a joint 68-page interpretive release (legal guidance) on March 17, setting out a five-part token taxonomy: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities. The release treats protocol staking, mining, and airdrops as non-securities activities when they do not involve a separate investment contract. The same day, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins previewed “Regulation Crypto Assets,” a forthcoming safe harbor (temporary exemption) proposal offering early-stage token projects up to four years and $5M in capital formation without full SEC registration. [RELEASE]
Why this matters: The Howey test now has an expiration date: the SEC formally recognizes that investment contracts can terminate, and a token does not remain a security forever once the network reaches maturity, clearing the path for DeFi protocols and VC funds that previously had no clean exit to secondary distribution. The infrastructure response is already visible: Mastercard is acquiring BVNK, and Standard Chartered and DBS are securing stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong. Every compliance team that blocked institutional exposure to crypto on securities grounds now has to update the memo.
Read our full CEO notes on this topic👇
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SEC approves Nasdaq’s plan to trade tokenized securities
The SEC on March 18 approved Nasdaq‘s rule change to let market participants settle trades in Russell 1000 stocks and ETFs tracking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 as blockchain-based tokens, with settlement running through the DTC‘s tokenization pilot that received no-action relief (regulatory comfort letter) on December 11, 2025. Tokenized shares trade on the same order book as traditional shares, with the same ticker and CUSIP. Holders keep the same voting rights, dividends, and execution priority. First token-settled trades are not expected until Q3 2026 at the earliest. [RELEASE]
Why this matters: For years, the problem with crypto tokens was that once they got classified as securities, there was no way out. The Howey test was a roach motel. You checked in, you never left. The SEC just changed that. They formally said investment contracts can terminate. A token doesn’t stay a security forever once the network matures. That sounds technical but the consequences are huge. Every DeFi protocol and every VC fund that couldn’t figure out how to get to secondary distribution now has a path. You can already see the reaction. Mastercard is buying BVNK. Standard Chartered and DBS are locking down stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong. The institutions aren’t waiting to see how this plays out. They’re moving now.
Read our full CEO notes on Nasdaq and NYSE, to understand where we are headed👇
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HSBC and Standard Chartered to receive Hong Kong's first stablecoin licenses
HSBC and a joint venture between Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecommunications are expected to receive Hong Kong’s first stablecoin issuer licenses as early as March 24. The licenses fall under Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance, which took effect in August 2025 and requires all fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers to obtain HKMA approval, 1:1 high-quality liquid asset (HQLA) reserves, and T+1 par redemption (redeemable at face value within one business day). The HKMA is prioritizing institutions already authorized to issue physical banknotes. [RELEASE]
Why this matters: Beijing killed onshore RWA tokenization in February. Hong Kong then did something interesting: it gave the first stablecoin licenses to the banks that already print Hong Kong’s physical banknotes. That’s not a coincidence. It tells you exactly how seriously they’re treating this. When the same institution is trusted to print paper money AND issue digital money, stablecoins stop being a fintech category and become monetary infrastructure. Now add one detail: the HKD is pegged to the dollar. Which means HSBC and Standard Chartered are effectively issuing a dollar that runs on Chinese distribution rails. The people who still think of stablecoins as a crypto thing are going to have a bad year.
👉Subscribe to PRO for our our institutional-grade analysis that drops on Monday
Mastercard pays $1.8B for BVNK
Mastercard agreed to acquire BVNK, a UK-based stablecoin infrastructure company processing $30B in annualized volume across 130+ countries, for up to $1.8B. $300M is contingent on performance milestones. The deal is 2.4x BVNK‘s $750M Series B valuation from December 2024. Coinbase entered exclusivity at roughly $2B in late 2025 and walked. Over the past 18 months, Mastercard had been steadily building its stablecoin presence partnering with MoonPay, SoFi, Fiserv, and Chainlink, and launching an 85-company Crypto Partner Program in March 2026. [RELEASE]
Why this matters: In just over a year:
Stripe paid $1.1B for Bridge in February 2025.
MoonPay paid $100M+ for Iron a month later.
Mastercard just paid $1.8B for BVNK in March 2026. Every transaction prices stablecoin infrastructure higher than the last.
Whoever controls the fiat-to-stablecoin conversion layer at enterprise scale owns the toll booth on a corridor where stablecoin transfers on public blockchains hit $27.6 trillion in 2024, more than Visa and Mastercard‘s combined annual card volume. Instead of card networks competing with stablecoins, they are acquiring their way onto the new rails before they get disintermediated. Simple.
Read our full CEO notes on this topic👇
PayPal expands PYUSD to 70 markets
PayPal made its dollar-backed stablecoin, PYUSD, available across 70 markets spanning Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America, adding 68 countries in a single release after operating exclusively in the U.S. and U.K. since the token’s August 2023 launch. The first wave skews toward remittance-heavy corridors. Users earn 4% annually in the U.S. on holdings and can convert to local currency on withdrawal. PYUSD is issued by Paxos Trust Company, a federally chartered trust company regulated by the OCC, making it the largest dollar stablecoin from a U.S. federally supervised issuer to go global. Its market cap has grown from under $500M in early 2025 to roughly $4.1B. [RELEASE]
Why this matters: Most stablecoin issuers have the token but not the distribution. PayPal has both: 439M active accounts, 35M merchants, and now 70 countries switched on in one go. Cross-border fees still average 6.49% worldwide. PayPal made it free to send dollars to any PayPal wallet, with local-currency conversion at the other end. Western Union is still piloting stablecoin settlement in select corridors. MoneyGram is experimenting. The PYUSDx framework, launched in February 2026 with MoonPay and M0, goes one step further: it lets any app issue its own branded stablecoin on top of PYUSD reserves, turning PayPal from a payment company into a stablecoin infrastructure provider.
Stripe is building network for AI agents
On March 18, 2026, Stripe and Tempo co-released the Machine Payments Protocol (MPP), an open specification that lets AI agents request, authorize, and settle payments in milliseconds without human approval at checkout. Tempo’s simultaneously launched mainnet, backed by $500 million from Paradigm and Thrive Capital at a $5 billion valuation, settles the stablecoin leg with sub-second finality at 100,000-plus TPS. MPP accepts both stablecoins and fiat through a single integration, with Visa, Mastercard, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Shopify all listed as design partners on the specification. [RELEASE]
Why this matters: Most agent payment protocols pick a lane: Coinbase’s x402 is crypto-native, Mastercard’s Agent Pay is card-native. Stripe is the only company right now that checks all the boxes: crypto rail, fiat rail, merchant base, AI protocol (both payment rails and commerce), Web3 interface (Privy), AI billing (Metronome), trust bank charter (Bridge) and blockchain (Tempo). It’s Stripe’s bid to become the default financial infrastructure for the agent economy, the same way it became the default for human e-commerce. This will compound if Stripe goes public in 2026.
Read our past CEO notes on Stripe👇
News Flash
US Senator Lummis signals compromise on crypto market structure bill. Link
Coinbase tokenizes its Bitcoin Yield Fund on Base with Apex Group. Link
S&P licenses S&P 500 to Trade[XYZ] for perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid. Link
Anchorage launches institutional collateral management on its Atlas network. Link
Vietnam to license domestic crypto exchanges and block offshore platforms. Link
Sygnum’s off-exchange custody surpasses $1B in assets. Link
LayerZero and Centrifuge partner for omnichain RWA distribution. Link
Ironlight raises $21M Series A for tokenized securities infra.Link
Our CEO Notes this week
If you're building infrastructure, allocating capital, or pricing the shift to always-on markets, this is the briefing your competitors already read on Monday.
That’s all for now, folks.
PRO Readers: Read our alpha insights below!
– Marc & Team
