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
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Portfolio Headlines
Circle Partners with Safe to Offer Institutional-Grade Storage and Treasury Management for USDC Holders
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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.
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Daylight (DePIN Energy Network)
Raised $75MM (incl. $15MM equity led by Framework Ventures and $60MM project financing).
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Telcoin (Regulated Blockchain Bank)
Raised $25MM to launch a compliant digital-asset bank.
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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
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Kalshi and Polymarket hit a combined ~$1.44Bn trading month in September as institutional backing surges
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Uniswap launches Solana-supporting web app, enabling native swap & staking on Solana
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Backpack Adds SEC-Registered Tokenized U.S. Equities via Partnership with Superstate
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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
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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)
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Crypto-bank Anchorage Digital adds global USD wire transfers for institutional clients
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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