U.S. banking, inflation, payments, bonds and financial policy.
The SEC has suspended trading in QMMM Holdings until Oct. 13, citing concerns of potential stock manipulation linked to social media promotions. While QMMM recently pivoted to a crypto treasury model, analysts say the halt is focused on illegal trading activity, not its digital asset strategy. The move comes as regulators expand probes into the fast-growing crypto treasury trend on Wall Street.
Predictive Oncology (NASDAQ: POAI) has launched a $344M DePIN treasury centered on Aethir’s ATH token, becoming the first Nasdaq firm to adopt such a strategy. The move sent its stock up 70%, but analysts caution that market saturation in digital asset treasuries could limit long-term valuations.
QNB’s adoption of JPMorgan’s Kinexys blockchain brings near-instant, round-the-clock US dollar payments to corporate clients, marking a big leap for blockchain in the Middle East. While JPMorgan’s $3 billion Kinexys volume is small compared to its $10 trillion in daily payments, the system represents a critical bridge between traditional banking and digital settlement infrastructure.
Eric Trump says stablecoins could “save the US dollar,” pointing to his family’s USD1 token under World Liberty Financial. While supporters argue stablecoins may strengthen the dollar’s global reach, critics warn of conflicts of interest and financial stability risks tied to the Trump family’s direct involvement.
Kraken has partnered with Trust Wallet to expand access to Backed’s tokenized equities, xStocks, across multiple blockchains. While the exchange claims a potential reach of 200 million users, regulatory restrictions mean availability will be limited in key markets such as the U.S., U.K., and Canada.
Coinbase researchers say the era of “easy money” for crypto treasuries has ended, pushing firms into a competitive phase that could ultimately strengthen markets. They downplayed seasonal myths like the “September effect” and predicted Fed rate cuts would give crypto “room to run” into Q4.
CoinShares is set to go public in the United States through a $1.2 billion SPAC merger with Vine Hill Capital, allowing it to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market later in 2025. The European asset manager, which oversees $10 billion in assets and leads Europe’s crypto ETP market, aims to tap into the world’s largest investment market. Backed by a $50 million anchor investment, the deal is expected to accelerate CoinShares’ global expansion.
The U.S. Senate has added a clause to its crypto bill clarifying that tokenized stocks remain classified as securities, ensuring they fit within existing financial frameworks. The Responsible Financial Innovation Act of 2025 also splits oversight between the SEC and CFTC, with votes expected in the coming months. Meanwhile, over 100 crypto firms, including Coinbase and Ripple, have urged lawmakers to protect developers and non-custodial service providers, warning that unclear rules are driving talent out of the U.S.
Ondo Finance, in partnership with Chainlink, has launched its Ondo Global Markets platform, bringing over 100 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs onchain. The platform, live on Ethereum, is currently available to non-U.S. investors and is being promoted as “Wall Street 2.0.”
The Trump family launched two major crypto ventures in the same week. American Bitcoin went public on Nasdaq, while the World Liberty Financial (WLFI) token debuted on exchanges but has already dropped 30% since launch. A company tied to the Trumps holds nearly a quarter of WLFI, valued at $4.8 billion. Eric Trump’s stake in American Bitcoin is estimated at $548 million.
Traditional banks are expanding into crypto custody. Deutsche Bank plans to launch a digital assets custody service in 2026 with Bitpanda, while Citigroup is considering custody and payment services as regulatory shifts make the sector more accessible.
Crypto.com partnered with Trump Media, owner of Truth Social, to launch a treasury strategy for its native token Cronos (CRO). The token jumped nearly 150% to $0.38 on the news but later eased back to $0.27, far below its 2021 peak.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the new futures index is part of building an “everything exchange,” tied to the firm’s broader “everything app” strategy. In July, Coinbase rebranded its wallet as the Base app, aiming to merge trading, payments, social media, and messaging in one platform.
Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin predicts that Ether will eventually surpass Bitcoin as the global “monetary base,” fueled by Wall Street’s adoption of staking, DeFi, and tokenization. He calls ETH the “highest octane decentralized trust commodity,” arguing its potential is far greater than most forecasts. Institutional clients are already allocating treasury assets to ETH, while stablecoin supply on Ethereum has surged past $160 billion, doubling since January 2024. Though Bitcoin still dominates as a store of value, Ethereum’s programmability and rapid ecosystem growth could accelerate the long-awaited “flippening.”