50T Investor Newsletter (Oct 20)
Oct 20, 2025
Hi Investors,
Markets rebounded from last week’s volatility as institutional adoption and product expansion drove momentum across every major vertical. Massive fundraising and landmark acquisitions underscored the industry’s accelerating development - Kraken’s $100M purchase of Small Exchange expanded its U.S. derivatives footprint, while Ripple’s $1B acquisition of GTreasury marked a milestone for onchain corporate finance. Tempo’s $500M raise positioned Stripe’s blockchain arm as a new heavyweight in stablecoin and payments infrastructure, and both Coinbase and MoonPay launched enterprise payment platforms built around USDC settlement. Meanwhile, BlackRock advanced its in-house tokenization technology and Stripe’s Bridge applied for a federal trust charter, highlighting how traditional finance continues to migrate onchain.
Below are the key developments:
Market Moves
Tempo Raises $500MM Series A at $5Bn Valuation, Led by Thrive and Greenoaks
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MoonPay Launches “MoonPay Commerce” for Crypto and Stablecoin Payments
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BlackRock is Developing In-House Tokenization Technology for Funds and RWAs
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Stripe’s Bridge Applies for National Trust Charter to Issue Stablecoins
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Ripple Acquires GTreasury for $1Bn to Expand Into Corporate Treasury Services
→ Link
Portfolio Headlines
 | Circle Partners with Safe to Offer Institutional-Grade Storage and Treasury Management for USDC Holders |
 | Coinbase Launches “Coinbase Business” for Global Stablecoin Payments Coinbase Invests in Indian Exchange CoinDCX, Valuing the Firm at $2.45Bn |
 | Figment Acquires Rated Labs to Enhance Institutional Staking Analytics Figure Launches SEC-Registered, Yield-Bearing Security Token “YLDS” on Sui |
 | Kraken Acquires CFTC-Licensed Small Exchange for ~$100MM Ink (Incubated by Kraken) Launches “Tydro,” a White-Label Aave v3 Deployment |
Charts of the Week
zenBTC reached an all-time high this week, surpassing $4MM in trading volume - marking its third consecutive week of accelerated growth
The share of futures volume executed on DEXs has climbed to a record high of almost 15%, up from just ~4% a year ago - reflecting accelerating migration of derivatives activity from centralized to onchain venues
Coinbase’s cbBTC now represents roughly 32% of BTC in DeFi, eroding WBTC’s dominance and signaling the market’s growing demand for alternative Bitcoin wrappers
Industry News
Notable Raises
Better Payment Network (Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure)
Raised $50MM Series B led by YZI Labs.
→ Link
Daylight (DePIN Energy Network)
Raised $75MM (incl. $15MM equity led by Framework Ventures and $60MM project financing).
→ Link
Telcoin (Regulated Blockchain Bank)
Raised $25MM to launch a compliant digital-asset bank.
→ Link
Tria (Self-Custodial Neobank for Humans + AI Agents)
Raised $12MM pre-seed/strategic led by P2 Ventures; contributors include Aptos, Polygon, Ethereum Foundation, and Wintermute.
→ LinkIndustry News
Industry News
a16z Crypto invests $50MM in Solana-based validator Jito via private token sale
→ Link
Kalshi and Polymarket hit a combined ~$1.44Bn trading month in September as institutional backing surges
→ Link
Uniswap launches Solana-supporting web app, enabling native swap & staking on Solana
→ Link
Backpack Adds SEC-Registered Tokenized U.S. Equities via Partnership with Superstate
→ Link
OpenSea Pivots to a Multi-Chain Crypto Trading Hub as NFT Volumes Collapse
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U.S. Government Bitcoin Holdings Rise to ~$36Bn Following Record DOJ Seizure
→ Link
NYC Launches Office of Digital Assets & Blockchain to Oversee Industry Innovation
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Crypto-Bank Erebor Approved for Conditional Federal Bank Charter by OCC
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Japan’s Largest Banks Form Consortium to Accelerate Stablecoin-Based Corporate Payments
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French Regulator Expands AML Checks to Coinbase and Binance
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ODDO BHF Issues Euro-Backed Stablecoin “EuroD”
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Chinese Tech Giants Pause Stablecoin Launch Plans After Regulator Intervention in Hong Kong
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Paxos Mistakenly Mints $300T PYUSD Before Burning Excess Within ~20 Minutes
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Tether Open-Sources “Wallet Kit” for Humans and AI Agents (Bitcoin, Ethereum, beyond)
→ Link
Crypto-bank Anchorage Digital adds global USD wire transfers for institutional clients
→ Link
Looking Ahead
Oct. 20–21: DigiAssets Summit (Miami)
Oct. 24: ApeFest (Las Vegas)
Oct. 24: CoinDesk State of Crypto (Washington D.C.)
Media & Insights
📄 Research Piece of the Week: Ribbit Capital
The Token Revolution is Upon Us
📌 Tweet of the Week: Aditya Dave
Zenrock Q4 Roadmap