Digital Assets Weekly Newsletter for June 9, 2025

Circle's successful IPO shows demand for stablecoins and crypto businesses from TradFi investors. For crypto natives, ICOs are so back with Pump.fun floating a $1B token sale.

Bitcoin

Strategy Creates New Financial Instrument To Acquire More Bitcoin

• Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) priced its IPO of 11,764,700 shares of 10.00% Series A Perpetual Stride Preferred Stock (“STRD”) at $85/share, expecting $979.7M in net proceeds after fees, with proceeds to fund more bitcoin acquisitions

• STRD Stock offers non-cumulative 10% annual dividends ($10/share if declared), payable quarterly starting September 30, 2025, with no obligation to pay undeclared dividends, reducing financial pressure on Strategy to potentially sell any bitcoin to fund obligations

  • Strategy can redeem all STRD for cash if outstanding shares fall below 25% of the original 11.7M or if tax events occur, with a redemption price tied to the $100 liquidation preference plus declared dividends

  • Holders can require repurchase at $100/share plus declared dividends upon a “fundamental change” (e.g., merger), offering exit flexibility and protection while still gaining exposure to bitcoin volatility

• While not explicitly disclosed, it is possible Stride is an “AI-designed security” as Strategy is known to be using AI for designing its other securities, Strife (STRF) and Strike (STRK)

Trump Media Upsizes Bitcoin Acquisition To $12B, Partner Firms Files For Bitcoin ETP

• Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG, Nasdaq: DJT) announced it was upsizing its bitcoin acquisitions to $12B using both equity and convertible debt offerings, potentially making DJT one of the largest bitcoin corporate treasuries

  • TMTG recently raised $2.5B ($1.5B stock, $1B convertible notes at 35% premium) for a bitcoin treasury, holding BTC with custody by Crypto.com and Anchorage Digital

• Yorkville America Digital, a TMTG partner, filed for a Truth Social Bitcoin ETF with the SEC via NYSE Arca on June 5

Metaplanet Aims To Be Strategy of Japan, Moves To Billion Dollar Raises

• Metaplanet launched a ¥770.9B ($5.4B) equity raise via 555M warrants, marking Asia’s largest bitcoin-focused raise, to fund its bitcoin treasury strategy

  • The raise, structured over 6-10 months with a ¥1,388/share strike price (premium to market), leverages Japan’s tax-advantaged NISA accounts and TSE liquidity, driving a 210% share price surge since its “210 Million Plan” (¥93.3B raised, 7,800 BTC added)

  • According to Metaplanet board members, one of the value props for Japan-based investors is the tax-advantages of bitcoin exposure via Metaplant vs spot bitcoin investing

• Metaplanet’s bitcoin accumulation goals are 30,000 BTC by December 2025, with long-term goals of 100,000 BTC (2026) and 210,000 BTC (2027), or 1% of Bitcoin’s supply before the next halving

  • Metaplanet has acquired 8,888 BTC to date, ranking it among the top 10 public bitcoin holders

Strategy Copy Cats Emerging Globally

• Hong Kong-based Reitar Logtech Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq: RITR) announced via an SEC Form 6-K filing, plans to acquire up to 15,000 BTC ($1.5B at ~$100,000/BTC) to diversify its treasury and fund global logistics tech expansion

• Spanish coffee chain Vanadi Coffee SA announced plans for a $1.1B bitcoin investment, shifting from a loss-making ($3.7M in 2024) coffee business to a Bitcoin-centric model, inspired by Strategy

  • Chairman Salvador Martí is still seeking board approval to fund purchases via stock offerings

• South Korean K Wave Media secured a $500M securities purchase agreement to fund a bitcoin-focused treasury, aiming to emulate Strategy and Japan’s Metaplanet

  • K Wave Media shared plans to activate its bitcoin holdings in Lightning Network nodes

• Reitar, Vanadi, and K Wave join a growing list of firms (e.g., MicroStrategy with 580,955 BTC, Metaplanet, GameStop, Trump Media, etc) adopting bitcoin as a treasury asset, driven by its liquidity, 24/7 markets, and inflation-hedging potential

• All three firms’ stocks reacted with positive price action to their bitcoin strategy announcements

Russia’s Largest Bank Issues Bitcoin-Linked Bonds

• Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, launched Bitcoin-tied structured bonds, tracking BTC price and USD/RUB exchange rate, offering a non-custodial entry point for qualified investors in Russia

  • The bonds, part of a $5.2B 2025 financial product rollout, follow the Bank of Russia’s May 29, 2025, approval of crypto derivatives for “qualified investors” (assets >$1.1M), signaling a strategic pivot amid sanctions and a 40% ruble devaluation since 2022

• Sberbank plans to expand to other crypto-tied products, likely looking to compete with global hubs like Hong Kong and Dubai, which are approved derivatives and other digital asset products

• The bitcoin-linked bonds (“bitbonds”) offer a potentially lower-risk bitcoin exposure channel than spot or other types of bitcoin-linked derivatives

Blockchains

Ethereum Foundation Gets Staff Overhaul, Refocuses Remaining Researchers

• The Ethereum Foundation (EF) restructured its Protocol Research & Development (PR&D) team into “Protocol,” focusing on three strategic goals: scaling Layer 1 (L1), scaling Layer 2 (L2) blobs, and improving user experience (UX)

  • New EF leadership assignments include Tim Beiko and Ansgar Dietrichs for L1 scaling, Alex Stokes and Francesco D’Amato for L2 blob scaling, and Barnabé Monnot and Josh Rudolf for UX, with Dankrad Feist as a strategic advisor, aiming to enhance accountability and coordination

  • Vitalik, the credited founder of Ethereum, was not assigned any leadership roles nor was listed as an author or contributor to the leadership change at EF

• The restructuring, driven by technology advancements and market demand, positions Ethereum as the “world computer”, which was the original version of Ethereum at launch

  • Due to lagging price action, market participants have criticized that Ethereum, specifically the EF, has lost its focus and narrative

• Some PR&D members will exit EF, while new roles (UX Lead, Performance Engineering Lead) are open to bolster community collaboration

Stablecoins

Circle Conducts Oversubscribed IPO, Indicates Market Demand For Stablecoin Businesses

• Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) debuted on June 5 at $69/share, up from a $31 IPO price, peaking at over $100/share and closing the week at over $20B market cap

  • The IPO, 25 times oversubscribed per Bloomberg, reflects strong demand from institutional and retail investors, despite the market commentary from crypto twitter suggesting Circle was worth less than $5B in public markets

  • Likely driven by USDC’s $61B market cap (~25% of $250B stablecoin market) Circle’s profitability, and the administration's elevation of stablecoins as a strategic tool for maintaining U.S. dollar dominance in the digital age

  • CEO Jeremy Allaire framed the listing as a milestone for a U.S. crypto hub, with analysts like VanEck’s Matthew Sigel calling it a “boring is beautiful” institutional play

• The debut follows Galaxy Digital and DeFi Technologies’ Nasdaq listings in May 2025, and likely opens the door for other mature crypto firms to go public (Gemini filed for an IPO following Circle’s successful IPO)

  • Arca’s CIO Jeff Dorman criticized Circle’s $135K allocation (1.35% of $10M order) despite prior support during the 2023 USDC depeg, prompting Arca to shift to USDT, highlighting allocation disputes in oversubscribed IPOs from crypto firms that have grown up together in the industry

Crypto-Native

Pump.fun Plans For $1B ICO At $4B Valuation

• Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin launchpad, announced plans for a $1B token sale at a $4B fully diluted valuation, targeting public and private investors, with a potential launch within two weeks

• The Pump platform, launched in early 2024, has generated over $700M in revenue and facilitated ~11M token creations with a $4.5B cumulative market cap, cementing its role in the 2024 memecoin frenzy and becoming the most profitable crypto application in the shortest amount of time

  • The $PUMP token may include revenue-sharing with holders, though details on structure and PumpSwap inclusion remain unconfirmed

• Pump.fun may be looking to raise capital for expansion into areas such as DeFi, social media, and streaming after finding initial PMF, but requiring a takedown due to content concerns

  • PumpSwap, a DeFi AMM handling $10B in trading since March 2025, allowed Pump.fun to end ties with Raydium, an initial market structure partner

• The sale’s scale and lack of public transparency outside of rumors on crypto twitter “CT” (no whitepaper, unconfirmed structure as of Monday morning) likely call for further due diligence by investors before participation

Pump.fun Revenue Since Launch. Source: Dune

Justin Sun Drops WBTC Case Against Coinbase

• BiT Global (TRON-backed, BitGo partner) dismissed its lawsuit against Coinbase regarding wBTC delisting, with both parties covering legal costs; and the case cannot be refiled

  • Filed December 2024, BiT Global claimed Coinbase’s wBTC delisting was anti-competitive to boost Coinbase’s wrapped bitcoin product, cbBTC, while a federal judge upheld Coinbase’s delisting rights

  • wBTC ($13.6B market cap) and cbBTC ($4.7B market cap) are ERC-20 tokens for bitcoin on other blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana

  • Justin Sun’s takeover of wBTC from BitGo control prompted DeFI protocols such as MakerDAO and Aave to tighten collateral risk parameters

• Also related to Coinbase’s legal activities, details around the Coinbase data breach have come to light with 69,461 customer records (names, addresses, partial SSNs) exposed via bribed TaskUs India staff and data sold on Telegram for scams

  • Coinbase’s May 14, 2025, SEC 8-K filing may violate four-day cyber-incident disclosure rule, risking the estimated $180M–$400M in costs

  • TaskUs fired 226 employees, enhanced security (e.g., endpoint monitoring), and aids law enforcement; offshoring KYC data to low-wage regions heightens insider threat risks

• For other crypto firms, performing due diligence on vendors is just as important as due diligence (e.g., BSA screening) on customers

Another $100M Blended Crypto Corporate Treasury

• Treasure Global (Nasdaq: TGL) launched a $100M digital asset treasury strategy to “reinforce its AI-powered consumer intelligence platform”

  • The “AI-powered consumer intelligence platform” is not a live product as of the time of the announcement

  • The strategy includes $50M from an institutional partner and $50M from corporate funds, targeting phased purchases of bitcoin, ether, and various stablecoins

• TGL’s stock price initially reacted positively to the announcement, but quickly pared gains, indicating the market is growing numb to companies buying crypto assets without a long-term strategy and alignment with the operating part of the business

• In a twist of irony, it appears that token sales from native crypto firms, such as Pump.fun, are now backed by real businesses and products, while announcements of crypto reserves by non-crypto firms are short term cash grabs backed by future promises

MoonPay Secures Valuable BitLicense

• MoonPay secured a BitLicense and money transmitter license from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) enabling full crypto operations in the state of NY and thus all 50 U.S. states marking a key regulatory milestone

  • The approval, following a record-breaking 2024 with cash-flow positivity and a new NYC headquarters, positions MoonPay among 40+ BitLicense holders

• CEO Ivan Soto-Wright emphasized the BitLicense as a “golden regulatory stack” for U.S. operations

  • The license offers a scalable entry into the growing NY crypto market, but requires maintaining compliance and integration with NYDFS’s stringent oversight

TradFi

Smaller ETP Issuers Push For “First-To-File” Treatment By SEC

• VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary Capital urged the SEC in a joint letter to reinstate the “first-to-file, first-to-approve” principle for crypto ETF approvals, criticizing the current simultaneous approval approach as unfair and anti-competitive

  • The firms argued that the SEC’s shift to batch approvals, seen in 2024 spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETP launches, disadvantages early filers, favors larger firms, and stifles innovation

  • Simultaneous approvals reduce incentives for pioneering products, concentrating market share among established players

• The letter, addressed to SEC Chair Paul Atkins, highlighting pending altcoin ETP applications (e.g., Solana, XRP, DOGE), noting VanEck’s June 2024 Solana ETP filing as the first and highlights investor choice and market efficiency as reasons for the first to file approval process

Robinhood Completes Acquisition of Bitstamp, Surpasses Coinbase In Market Capitalization

• Robinhood completed its $200M cash acquisition of Bitstamp gaining 50 global crypto licenses, an institutional client base of ~5,000 and infrastructure for lending, staking, and “Crypto-as-a-Service” offerings

• The acquisition expands Robinhood’s crypto footprint into Europe, UK, and Asia, complementing its May 13, 2025, $179M WonderFi deal in Canada

  • Bitstamp’s integration with Robinhood Legend and Smart Exchange Routing began “immediately,” boosting Q1 2025 crypto revenue

  • Robinhood’s stock (HOOD) rose 72% YTD to over $70 reflecting market confidence in its crypto strategy and surpassing Coinbase (COIN) market capitalization

• Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev has highlighted tokenization of real-world assets (e.g., private equities like SpaceX, OpenAI) as major company priority to enhance secondary market liquidity and investor options

JPMorgan To Offer Financing Against Bitcoin ETP Shares

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced plans to allow trading and wealth-management clients globally to use spot Bitcoin ETPs, starting with BlackRock’s IBIT, as collateral for loans, a shift from prior case-by-case approvals

  • The bank will also include crypto holdings in net worth and liquid asset assessments, aligning them with stocks and fine art for loan eligibility

  • The article did not specify requirements around the “crypto holdings” (e.g., spot, ETP shares, etc)

• This move aligns with a pro-crypto U.S. regulatory shift under President Trump’s administration, despite CEO Jamie Dimon’s skepticism, who defends client access to bitcoin as a personal choice, as well as clients choosing to smoke as a personal choice

Regulatory

Bo Hines Meets With El Salvador President To Discuss Bitcoin Strategic Reserves

• Bo Hines, Executive Director of Trump’s Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, met El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to discuss Bitcoin and digital asset collaboration, focusing on innovation, Strategic Reserves, and global financial transformation

• Discussions emphasized potential for “extraordinary” outcomes in Bitcoin, stablecoins, and digital assets, leveraging El Salvador’s pioneering 2021 bitcoin legal tender status

  • El Salvador holds 6,198 BTC (~$651M), acquired via daily purchases, aligning with Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) plan to accumulate bitcoin through budget-neutral methods like criminal seizures

  • Bo Hines has hinted at other budget neutral bitcoin accumulation methods such as mining and bitbonds

• The meeting follows Bukele’s April 2025 White House visit with Trump, which focused on security but not crypto; Hines’ trip signals U.S. interest in El Salvador’s bitcoin model for its SBR strategy

  • El Salvador’s National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD) is collaborating with the U.S. SEC on a cross-border regulatory sandbox to streamline digital asset regulations, leveraging El Salvador’s experience

  • El Salvador promotes crypto literacy through national programs, integrating bitcoin, AI, and blockchain education to foster tech leadership, also potentially informing U.S. policy

El Salvador Bitcoin Holdings Overtime. Source: Cointelegraph

House Introduces Draft Market Structure Bill, CLARITY Act

• The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act), introduced by Rep. French Hill (R-AR), with bipartisan co-sponsors (e.g., Reps. G.T. Thompson, Tom Emmer, Angie Craig, Ritchie Torres), aims to create a comprehensive U.S. crypto regulatory framework, addressing SEC-CFTC jurisdictional overlap

• According to the draft, the CFTC would regulate “digital commodities” (e.g., bitcoin, ether) on spot markets, while SEC oversees “digital securities" (more centralized tokens); platforms can register with either based on asset type

  • CLARITY creates new CFTC-regulated entities: “digital commodity exchanges” for spot trading

• The bill critically introduces “mature blockchain system” concept where decentralized networks (open-source, autonomous, no single-entity control) can certify tokens as digital commodities, shifting from SEC to lighter CFTC oversight, incentivizing decentralization over time

• The bill exempts DeFi activities for now (e.g., node operators, protocol coders) from financial service provider regulations unless engaging in fraud or market manipulation

• The bill also formally establishes SEC/CFTC innovation labs (FinHub and LabCFTC) to guide developers on compliance, reducing “regulation by enforcement” and aiding startups navigating the 236-page bill’s complex rules

Bowman Confirmed As Fed Reserve Vice Chair For Supervision, Likely Deregulatory Focused

• The U.S. Senate confirmed Michelle Bowman as Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision replacing Michael Barr

  • Sen. Cynthia Lummis hailed Bowman’s confirmation as a “turning point for digital assets,” citing her commitment to evidence-based regulation over political bias, potentially easing crypto banking restrictions

  • Bowman criticized the existing U.S. regulatory framework as “overly complicated and redundant” during her April 2025 Senate testimony, advocating for streamlined, tailored oversight, though she did not directly address crypto

  • Bowman’s prior opposition to stringent rules, like Basel III’s capital requirements, suggests a lighter regulatory touch, and potentially benefiting crypto firms facing debanking risks

• Bowman’s leadership may reduce barriers for crypto integration into traditional banking, which would follow the Trump administration's trend of rolling back restrictive guidance from the previous administration

Hong Kong Set To Greenlight Crypto Derivatives, U.K. Follow’s U.S. In Restrictive Guidance Rollback

• Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is finalizing a framework to legalize Bitcoin and crypto derivatives trading (futures and options) for professional investors (HK$8M/US$1M+ in assets) by end-2025

• The initiative builds on Hong Kong’s 18-month crypto ecosystem expansion which has included Asia’s first spot bitcoin/ether ETPs (April 2024), staking services approval (April 2025), and Stablecoin Bill licensing regime (May 2025)

  • The SFC’s February 2025 “A-S-P-I-Re” roadmap outlined derivatives trading for professional investors, alongside margin financing and new token listings, to compete with other international crypto hubs like Singapore, Dubai, and increasingly the U.S., where regulated crypto futures already attract institutional capital

  • A second virtual asset policy statement by the SFC, due by end-2025, will integrate traditional finance with DeFi, offering tax concessions for crypto transactions by funds and private equity, aiming to draw global firms

• The UK is also reversing previously restrictive guidance with UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) saying it will lift its ban on retail crypto ETN trading in 2025, aligning with Hong Kong’s pro-crypto shift, but maintains a retail derivatives ban

ETP Flows

TradFi products saw their 8th straight week of inflows, the longest inflow streak since last fall around election season and pro-crypto policy anticipation. As mentioned in previous ETP flows analysis, there is a clear shift in investor allocation patterns, with bitcoin no longer the largest asset flow-wise. Ether, the native asset of Ethereum blockchain, ETPs received ~$300M of inflows, while bitcoin products saw $56M of outflows. The material divergence in flows could indicate investors that started with bitcoin last year have now expanded their investor horizons to other crypto assets, are seeking more risk and exposure to digital assets, and/or diversifying from bitcoin. Outside of Sui, most other crypto ETP products showed outflows. If previous market structure patterns hold, investors will likely allocate to the smaller/newer assets once ether allocation is complete and investors learn more about the expansive digital asset ecosystem.

ETP Funds Flows. Source: Coinshares

ETP Funds Flows. Source: Coinshares

Market Monitoring

The stablecoin market has become a cornerstone of the digital asset ecosystem, with Circle Internet Group's successful IPO marking a pivotal moment for the stablecoin sector and digital asset industry as a whole.

CRCL Price Performance Since IPO. Source: TradingView

The current state of the stablecoin market underscores its critical role in the broader crypto economy. As of June 9, 2025, the total stablecoin market cap stands at $230 billion, with Tether's USDT leading at $154B (~60% dominance) and Circle's USDC at $61B. DeFiLlama data shows stablecoins account for 70% of the $180 billion total value locked (TVL) in DeFi, with USDC and USDT dominating at $45B and $70B TVL, respectively . Over the past 30 days, stablecoin circulation has grown by 8% to $253B, with USDT remaining the dominant stablecoin product. This growth highlights stablecoins' increasing importance in facilitating transactions, lending, international payments, and liquidity across the crypto ecosystem.

Stablecoin market metrics. Source: Coingecko

Tron has emerged as a major player in the stablecoin market, particularly with USDT. As trade tensions continue, with the dollar being a key lever in global trade, we could see geographically specific financial and payment stacks emerging. The first emerging payment stack appears to be Tether on Tron, with Tether being an offshore stablecoin, deployed on a blockchain platform associated with close Chinese ties. We should expect a U.S.-centric payment stack/s to emerge as well with potential examples like USDC on Solana or USDC on Sui (a U.S.-based stablecoin deployed on a blockchain with close U.S.-ties).

Tether Transfer Volumes on Tron Source: Dune, @simbadmario

The Trump administration's strategic focus on stablecoins as a tool for exporting U.S. dollars and bolstering dollar hegemony adds a significant policy dimension to the market. The March 2025 GENIUS Act, supported by Sen. Bill Hagerty, encourages stablecoin issuers to purchase short-term U.S. Treasuries, thereby linking stablecoins to U.S. debt. Circle, for instance, holds $10 billion in U.S. Treasuries as reserves for USDC, while Tether has allocated $50 billion to similar assets. This policy aims to enhance stablecoins' legitimacy and stability, potentially increasing their adoption globally. Citi Bank’s research team suggested that by 2030 stablecoin issuers could surpass any single foreign country as holders of U.S. government debt. What seems clear is that there will be stronger integration between crypto and traditional financial markets, particularly with stablecoins as a linked vehicle between TradFi and DeFi ecosystems.

Stablecoin Issuers Projected Presence In Treasuries Market. Source: Citi, Forbes

If you are interested in further discussion or deep dives on any of the topics covered this week, you can reach me at liam@glennonlabs.com

I hope you have a great week.

Liam Glennon

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any asset; readers should conduct their own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.