Good morning everybody.
Let’s get into today’s news.
I also got a comment on Spotify this morning calling me a “shill.”
That one made me laugh.
Every once in a while someone stumbles across the show because they’re searching for their favorite token, gets upset that I didn’t mention it, and decides I’m somehow promoting everything except their bags.
I’ve been doing this for a long time. There are thousands of crypto stories every week, and I cover the ones I think matter most. If your favorite token doesn’t make the show every day, that’s not because I’m shilling someone else’s project. It’s because I only have so much time.
Now let’s get into the news.
E*TRADE Opens Crypto Trading
Morgan Stanley’s E*TRADE platform is now allowing eligible retail customers to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana directly through their brokerage accounts.
The service uses Zero Hash infrastructure and charges a 50-basis-point trading fee. E*TRADE currently serves approximately 8.6 million households and manages roughly $1.56 trillion in client assets.
Half a percent per trade isn’t cheap.
Still, it’s another example of traditional brokerages continuing to make crypto available to mainstream investors without requiring them to open accounts on dedicated exchanges.
Citadel Backs Crypto.com
Citadel Securities has made a $400 million strategic investment in Crypto.com, valuing the exchange at roughly $20 billion.
Crypto.com says it will use the capital to expand into tokenized securities, derivatives, prediction markets, and real-world assets. The investment marks the company’s first institutional funding round since its early years.
Matt also reflected on the early history of the major exchanges, noting the overlap between Binance, FTX, and Crypto.com during crypto’s formative years. While emphasizing he was only speculating, he said the history of those companies and their evolution is worth revisiting for anyone interested in how today’s exchange landscape developed.
Visa Launches a Stablecoin Platform
Visa introduced its new Visa Stablecoin Platform, allowing banks and fintech companies to issue, store, transfer, and redeem stablecoins through Visa-managed infrastructure.
The platform launches with support for OpenUSD and includes wallet management, minting and redemption tools, blockchain connectivity, approval workflows, audit logs, and transfer controls.
Matt’s reaction was straightforward.
The stablecoin race is no longer just about USDT and USDC.
Banks, payment companies, fintech firms, and traditional financial institutions all want to issue or manage their own digital dollars.
Europe Adds More Licensed Crypto Firms
European regulators added 14 additional crypto firms to the MiCA register, bringing the total number of licensed crypto asset service providers across the European Union to 294.
The newest additions include Ripple Payments Europe, Portugal’s Bison Bank, and Croatia’s state-owned Hrvatska Poštanska Banka.
As MiCA continues rolling out, more firms are completing the licensing process needed to operate throughout the European Union.
Malaysia Investigates Network State Project
Authorities in Malaysia are investigating a network-state community associated with Balaji Srinivasan after allegations involving foreign residents and second-passport issues.
Officials said preliminary reviews found hundreds of foreign residents with valid documentation, but the case highlights how crypto-adjacent projects are increasingly intersecting with immigration law and national sovereignty.
Competition in Stablecoins Continues Growing
CoinDesk also reported that Circle’s stock declined roughly 5% after Visa unveiled its stablecoin platform.
Matt noted that competition is expanding rapidly as payment companies, banks, fintech firms, and stablecoin issuers all compete to become the preferred infrastructure for digital dollars.
Taiwan Sentences Exchange Operator
A Taiwan court sentenced the alleged ringleader behind the BitShine crypto exchange to 22 years in prison.
Prosecutors said the operation defrauded more than 1,500 victims out of approximately $39 million, allegedly using the exchange to convert customer funds into USDT before transferring assets overseas.
UK Fraudsters Sentenced
Three men in the United Kingdom were sentenced after stealing more than £4 million by impersonating police officers.
According to prosecutors, the group directed victims to fake police websites, convinced them to transfer cryptocurrency, and laundered the stolen funds through multiple financial networks.
Matt pointed out that no legitimate law enforcement agency will ever ask someone to transfer cryptocurrency through a website in order to “protect” their funds.
JPMorgan Sees Positive Signs for Bitcoin
JPMorgan analysts said Strategy’s growing cash reserve and continued strength in Bitcoin futures are encouraging signals for Bitcoin, even as spot ETF flows remain inconsistent.
Strategy recently increased its cash reserves from approximately $2.55 billion to $3 billion, giving the company enough liquidity to cover roughly 20 months of preferred dividend payments.
At the same time, analysts noted that rising oil prices could become a headwind if inflation begins accelerating again.
Crypto Prices
Bitcoin (BTC): $62,774
Ethereum (ETH): $1,815
BNB: $558
XRP: $1.07
Solana (SOL): $73.74
Tron (TRX): $0.322
Hyperliquid (HYPE): $59.83
Dogecoin (DOGE): $0.071
Total Crypto Market Cap: $2.16 Trillion
Fear & Greed Index: 31 (Fear)
RSI: 42
My Take
One thing I talked about today wasn’t directly related to crypto prices, but I think it’s worth repeating.
Every election seems to end with arguments about trust.
Blockchain technology was built to create immutable, auditable records. With modern cryptography and zero-knowledge proofs, there are ways to build systems that protect voter privacy while still allowing independent verification of election results.
Whether policymakers ever decide to use technology like that is another question entirely.
The technology exists.
The political will is a different story.
Happy Hodling, Everyone.