🔮 Digital Meets Traditional: The Circle IPO, TradFi Buys DA While Robinhood Buys Bitstamp, Musk Taps Polymarket

Top Stories

Circle’s IPO Rockets Stablecoins Into Wall Street Spotlight

Circle’s IPO sent its stock price soaring on Thursday, tripling from its $31 opening price and triggering three trading halts on the NYSE, as investors rushed to gain exposure to the $250 billion stablecoin market. Analysts said the listing marks a milestone in Wall Street’s embrace of digital dollars, with Circle’s USDC stablecoin already the second largest by market cap at $61 billion. By debuting before U.S. legislation on stablecoins is finalized, Circle secured a first-mover advantage over traditional banks, one analyst said, positioning the company to tap public markets for expansion capital. The blockbuster debut underscores the growing integration of crypto with mainstream finance—an early sign that stablecoins may soon reshape global payments and dollar dominance.

Source: 10xResearch

Crypto Treasury Boom: VCs Flock to New Strategy Copycats but Risks Loom

A new wave of Strategy-style companies, or “crypto treasury companies,” are popping up in 2025, holding BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and other tokens on their balance sheets—sometimes overshadowing their original businesses. Many trade at big premiums to their net asset value (NAV), with Strategy itself at a 1.69x multiple and Metaplanet at 4.24x. VCs are jumping in, hoping to ride the reflexive cycle of raising capital at a premium and then buying more crypto, compounding holdings per share. But not all are convinced: Some investors warn that these firms could unravel quickly in a downturn, especially those that use leverage or trade below NAV. While some VCs like Pantera and Arrington Capital see the model as a path to outperform crypto itself, others like Strobe Ventures see it as a speculative trade that may mirror past manias like GBTC or Luna. For now, the trend shows that crypto is still a breeding ground for high-flying risk plays, but history suggests most will fail and only a few will thrive. See similar: Crypto Exchange Gemini Files to Go Public Following Circle's Smash IPO

Robinhood Enters Institutional Crypto with Bitstamp Buy

Robinhood has completed its $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp, gaining regulatory approval a year after first announcing the deal and marking its entry into institutional crypto services for the first time. The purchase gives Robinhood access to Bitstamp’s customer base across the EU, UK, and Asia as it looks to expand beyond its U.S. roots. Bitstamp—known as the world’s longest-running crypto exchange—brings over 85 tradable assets, a trusted reputation, and more than 50 global licenses. “Bitstamp is now part of Robinhood, adding a globally-scaled crypto exchange and our first-ever institutional crypto business,” said Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev. Bitstamp’s team joins Robinhood but retains its brand identity as “Bitstamp by Robinhood.” The deal follows Robinhood’s acquisition of WonderFi last month and comes amid a surge in crypto M&A activity driven by regulatory clarity and market consolidation.

Elon Musk’s X Taps Polymarket as Official Prediction Market Partner

Elon Musk’s X announced it is partnering with Polymarket as the platform’s official prediction market partner, marking the former Twitter’s biggest move yet into the crypto space. The collaboration aims to integrate onchain applications with X’s 600 million monthly users, highlighting a deeper embrace of decentralized finance. Musk has long praised prediction markets—particularly Polymarket—for their accuracy, especially during last year’s U.S. presidential election, when he called it more reliable than official polls. Polymarket says the partnership represents a shift toward “truth on the internet,” promising a future of news “optimized for truth, rooted in transparency, and anchored in reality.”

Regulation

Coinbase Expands Wrapped Tokens on Base with XRP and DOGE

Coinbase has launched wrapped XRP (cbXRP) and Dogecoin (cbDOGE) on its Ethereum Layer 2 network Base, offering users cross-chain use of these popular assets within Ethereum-based DeFi apps. Each wrapped token is backed 1:1 by XRP and DOGE held in Coinbase’s custody, ensuring full collateralization. Within the first day, users minted over 2.3 million cbXRP ($5 million) and 10.4 million cbDOGE ($1.9 million), building on the momentum from the September debut of Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC), now at a market cap of $4.7 billion. Coinbase says more wrapped tokens are in development, including cbLTC and cbADA, as it continues to expand its wrapped asset offerings and make it easier for users to participate in the onchain economy.

Trump Wallet Launch Sparks Confusion Amid Family Denials

President Donald Trump’s business partners have rolled out a new crypto wallet linked to his Solana-based meme coin in collaboration with Magic Eden, despite conflicting signals from his sons. The $TRUMP Wallet—unveiled via a waitlist site on Tuesday—offers users a chance to win $1 million in TRUMP tokens, with a sweepstakes concluding on July 4. Magic Eden confirmed the legitimacy of the site and its partnership with Trump’s business partners. However, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Barron Trump each denied involvement, with Don Jr. saying his World Liberty Financial project will launch a different wallet soon. The wallet is powered by Slingshot, which Magic Eden acquired in April, and aims to build on past NFT collaborations between Magic Eden and the Trump brand. The launch highlights the evolving interplay between politics, crypto, and celebrity—fueled by both hype and controversy.

Buying IBIT over BTC

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs just posted a 10-day streak of net inflows surpassing $4 billion, highlighting growing investor demand for regulated BTC exposure, while crypto exchange volumes globally slumped to $1.47 trillion in May, far below December’s $3 trillion peak. ETF volumes rebounded to $70 billion in May from a low of $57 billion in March, with BlackRock’s IBIT capturing nearly 80% of market share and posting a 34-day inflow streak through May 29th. Investors appear to prefer the familiar infrastructure of brokerage accounts over the hassles of exchange onboarding, KYC, and custody, sparking debate over whether the ETF boom represents a sustainable trend or a temporary flight to perceived safety.

Source: The Block

Crypto Index ETFs May Offer Big Opportunity as SEC Decision Looms

Hashdex CIO Samir Kerbage says crypto index ETFs represent the “biggest opportunity” right now as the SEC’s upcoming July decision could allow these funds to expand beyond BTC and ETH. Hashdex’s Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF (NCIQ) already holds BTC and ETH but is seeking approval to add other assets like solana, XRP, and cardano. The move would let investors access a diversified crypto allocation in one product—mirroring traditional index investing—rather than picking individual winners. Analysts note that broader adoption of index products could mark a milestone for the industry, with the SEC’s decision on Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund by July 2 possibly setting a key precedent. If approved, it would expand access to diversified crypto exposure at a time when advisers and financial professionals are seeking more predictable ways to allocate to the sector.

Other Domestic Regulation Updates

• Metaplanet ramps up bitcoin buys as Strategy slows down
• Another Nasdaq-listed firm plans $500 million raise to buy SOL
• Crypto Payments Firm MoonPay Secures New York BitLicense
• JPMorgan to Allow BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Shares as Loan Collateral

Other International Regulation Updates

• Ripple denies Circle acquisition reports
• Kraken launches full-service prime brokerage
• Webus files for $300 million XRP treasury plan
• South Korea elects pro-crypto Lee as new president

Pain & Gain

Pain

• ZachXBT flags suspicious $11.5M outflows from BitoPro
• Singapore court declines WazirX's restructuring plan after $230 million exploit
• Dad Livestreams Birth of Baby 'Solana' to Pump Meme Coin—Then It Got Weird
• Yuga Labs proposes dismantling ApeCoin DAO over failed governance

Gain

• Ethereum investment products see strongest inflow run since 2024
• Consensys leads $425M private placement for SharpLink's ETH treasury plans
• World Liberty Financial airdrops USD1 tokens to WLFI holders