Goldman, State Street, NYSE: The TradFi-Crypto Takeover Is Underway
Timestamps:
02:22 - The Clarity Act Markup + Stablecoin Yield Fight
16:48 - State Street Joins the Crypto Rush
22:01 - Goldman: Tokenization + Prediction Markets
24:04 - Distributions Versus Niches in Bitcoin Infrastructure
32:06 - TradFi Floodgates into Digital Assets
33:21 - Consumer Versus Enterprise Stablecoin Adoption
42:18 - Latest In Digital Asset Infrastructure Fundraises
55:56 - AI Tools Impact on Entrepreneurship
On this week’s Final Settlement, the Congress’s Clarity Act stalled due to contentions around stablecoin yields. Additionally, numerous tokenization and settlement launches were announced by major financial institutions including State Street, the London Stock Exchange, and the NYSE. Stablecoins are also becoming a key focus for traditional firms as Visa and other large fintechs are looking for partnerships and acquisitions to gain exposure. Lastly, digital asset firms are taking over the IPO pipeline this year through the likes of Bitpanda, Kraken, BitGo, and more.
Clarity Act Stalls as Stablecoin Yields Become the Primary Grievance
Congress’s Clarity Act hit resistance during last week’s markup process, with stablecoin yields emerging as the central point of debate.
Banks pushed back aggressively on allowing stablecoin issuers to pass through Treasury yields, noting significant risk of fleeing deposits.
Brian Armstrong’s Coinbase, formally pulled support for the Clarity Act after the markup process failed to resolve key issues.
Debate resurfaced around the existing Genius Act framework, as issuers are restricted from paying yields directly, but platforms can still structure rewards through activity-based mechanisms.
Tokenization and Settlement Become a Key Focus Area
Major financial institutions are developing and partnering to launch both tokenization and enhanced settlement products.
State Street announced expanded digital-asset capabilities, as it launches its digital assets platform to provide infrastructure for tokenized products.
The London Stock Exchange launched its Digital Settlement House (DISH), enabling blockchain-based post-trade settlement designed to reduce settlement delays and operational risk.
The London Stock Exchange has partnered with BNY Mellon and Citi to support tokenized deposits and after-hours liquidity and margin operations.
Goldman Sachs announced it is exploring tokenization and prediction markets products due to evolving U.S. regulatory dynamics.
Stablecoin Payments are Accelerating Tradfi Entry
Stablecoins are one of the key entry products for traditional financial firms as partnerships remain the predominant way that they are getting involved with digital assets.
Visa partnered with BVNK to enable stablecoin payouts via Visa Direct, allowing businesses to move funds using stablecoin settlement rails.
WalletConnect announced a partnership with Ingenico, enabling stablecoin acceptance across tens of millions of point-of-sale terminals globally.
Standard Chartered confirmed plans to launch a crypto prime brokerage offering custody, trading, financing, and clearing for institutional clients.
Digital Asset Firms are Crowding the IPO Pipeline
Major digital asset players are looking to take advantage of a strong equities market to raise capital through large public entry points.
Anchorage Digital is testing the waters with a $200–400 million raise ahead of their upcoming IPO.
Multiple crypto-native firms such as Kraken, BitPanda, HashKey, and BitGo are preparing to go public in 2026.
Alpaca raised nearly $150M at a $1.15B valuation to expand its brokerage-as-a-service platform, allowing fintechs to embed equities, crypto, and other assets into their existing consumer applications.
Quote of the Week
“As software compresses to zero, competition rises and the importance of securely storing value only increases.” — Brian Cubellis
Know Someone Who'd Find This Interesting?
Follow Early Riders on X and LinkedIn for more insights on the future of finance.
Episode Links:
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.