Early Riders | Open Range Weekly | 12.14.25
Bitcoin remained mostly flat on the week, at a market capitalization of $1.78T.
Early Riders Media
Michael, Brian, and Liam, break down Bitcoin’s climb back near the 90s, the continued quiet conviction from global actors like sovereign wealth funds, and Abu Dhabi granting Binance full ADGM approval as the region leans into mining, custody, and capital-flow advantages on this week's podcast.
You can find all our episodes on our podcast website as well as listen on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify.
Industry & Institutional Updates
PNC launched Bitcoin trading for high-net-worth clients via Coinbase, marking another large U.S. bank re-entering spot BTC exposure through partnerships.
Strive raised $500M to accumulate more Bitcoin, reinforcing capital formation around BTC as a treasury asset.
ADGM recognized USDT as a fiat-referenced token, strengthening Abu Dhabi’s positioning as a regulated hub for global stablecoin flows.
Gemini secured CFTC approval tied to prediction markets and derivatives, further expanding regulated crypto market structure in the U.S.
Klarna teamed with Stripe and Privy to build a consumer crypto wallet, signaling continued convergence between fintech distribution and onchain infrastructure.
Stripe acquired the Valora wallet team as it deepens its stablecoin and onchain payments strategy.
Sygnum's APAC high-net-worth individual survey reveals nearly 90% have an average allocation of ~17% to digital assets.
Lead Bank added Loop Crypto to its inner circle, emphasizing regulated banks’ growing role as stablecoin issuers and settlement hubs.
Paribu acquired a majority stake in CoinMENA in Turkey’s largest fintech deal.
Binance hinted at stock-linked perpetuals through API updates, suggesting renewed efforts to blur crypto-TradFi market boundaries.
YouTube, PayPal, and Google explore stablecoin-based payouts using PYUSD, pointing to early experimentation with onchain rails for global creator and merchant payments.
Twenty-One Capital's stock drops nearly 30% shortly after its debut in the NYSE.
Regulatory Updates
OCC announces approval for numerous Chartered Bank Trust applications for firms such as BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, and others.
U.S. regulators pushed back against banks opposing crypto trust charters, signaling continued support
Sen. Gillibrand emphasizes that "nothing is holding back this bill" as the Senate pushes to provide clarity around, which cryptocurrencies are not considered securities.
The Central Bank of Mexico signals their continued concerns with digital assets as they look to maintain a "healthy distance" reiterating concerns around liquidity risk and regulatory arbitrage.
IMF warned that widespread stablecoin adoption could weaken central banks’ monetary control.
What We’re Watching
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, announced that it has provided approval for applications from BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and three other applications to officially become chartered as national banks.
BitGo, in partnership with Onramp, a multi-institution custody platform, will further strengthen the foundational layer for regulated financial services offerings such as lending, trading, and derivatives. This approval marks an important step in Onramp's ability to follow a regulated framework for pioneering this digital asset infrastructure.
Chart of the Week
The Federal Reserve's balance sheet has consistently run down since the significant influx of capital in 2020 and 2021, resulting in a decrease of ~$10T in assets in 2022 to a current size of $6.6T.
As the Fed announced the end of quantitative tightening, they also announced initial plans to expand the balance sheet by $40B per month, despite estimated expansion needs noted by Jerome Powell of $20-$25B per month
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