Morning Minute is a daily newsletter authored by Tyler Warner. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily represent those of Decrypt.
Good morning!
Here are the key headlines for today:
- Major cryptocurrencies decline alongside stocks amid ongoing chip selloff; BTC priced at $63.2k
- Citadel Securities invests $400 million in Crypto.com, which is now valued at $20 billion
- Polygon Labs announces job cuts as it shifts focus to blockchain payments
- Visa introduces a stablecoin platform supporting Open USD
- Robinhood experiences chain rotations as INDEX rises while other leading tokens decline
🏦 Citadel Securities Invests $400M in Crypto.com at a $20 Billion Valuation
Citadel Securities has completed a strategic investment of $400 million in Crypto.com, attributing a valuation of $20 billion to the Singapore-based exchange. This marks the platform's first institutional funding round since its inception ten years ago, with plans to use the funds for expansion into tokenized securities, derivatives, prediction markets, and other tangible assets.
The firm, established by Ken Griffin, has historically approached the cryptocurrency sector cautiously, only recently beginning to engage in market-making within the industry. This investment comes shortly after Citadel resolved a long-standing legal dispute related to crypto, indicating a shift toward more active participation. CEO Kris Marszalek expressed the immense potential of the opportunity, noting that its scale is “staggering, as crypto increasingly becomes the rails for finance.”
The blending of Wall Street and cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly apparent, as demonstrated today:
- Alpaca secured $135 million for tokenized-stock infrastructure
- Visa launched a stablecoin platform for Open USD
- Keyrock acquired BlockFills, and
- The DTCC has initiated live production of tokenized stocks and Treasuries.
Institutions that previously overlooked cryptocurrency are now investing significantly to acquire the underlying infrastructure, all aiming towards tokenization and continuous market availability. Rather than investing in Bitcoin, they are focusing on the essential framework.
🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets
- Major cryptocurrencies are down 2-3%; BTC down 1% to $63.2k; ETH down 2.5% to $1,835; SOL down 2% to $75; HYPE down 8% to $60
- PI (+8%), CRO (+6%), and XDC (+3%) are the leading gainers
- Oil up 2% at $81; Gold down 1% at $3,997
- Stock futures are significantly down as the chip selloff persists; DOW down 0.6%, Nasdaq down 1.7%
- Visa launched a stablecoin platform supporting Open USD, intensifying competition for Circle as payment giants rally behind the 140-firm consortium
- Alpaca raised $135 million to develop tokenized-stock infrastructure
- Keyrock acquired BlockFills’ trading assets, extending the market maker’s institutional crypto operations through consolidation
- An open-standards group for AI payments was established, aiming to create a financial system for AI bots to transact independently, representing a new venture into agentic commerce
- Galaxy unveiled institutional stablecoin-yield vaults, aimed at providing DeFi returns for institutions seeking yield on idle stablecoins
- Polygon Labs announced layoffs as it transitions from a blockchain foundation to a blockchain payments firm, with CEO Marc Boiron stating that they are nearing the acquisition of Coinme and targeting profitability by 2027
Corporate Treasuries & ETFs
- Bitcoin ETFs recorded $79M in net inflows on Thursday; ETH ETFs faced $28M in outflows
Meme Coin Tracker
- Leading meme coins mostly saw declines; DOGE down 2%, SHIB down 1%, PEPE unchanged, PENGU down 1%, TRUMP down 1%, BONK down 8%
- Robinhood chain tokens experienced a general decline, falling another 30-50% overall; INDEX (+85%) and RWA (+400%) were notable exceptions
- Solana tokens included Jimothy (+30x) and HBULL (+45%); ANSEM rose 10% to a market cap of $190M
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
- Mantle surpassed Polygon to become the third-largest chain in the RWA sector for tokenized strategies, boasting $116M
- MegaETH is discontinuing its MegaMafia incubator, acknowledging that the 20-team initiative provided minimal value to the protocol and is shifting focus to developing first-party applications that directly benefit Mega
- Zcash unveiled Zakura, a new high-performance full node that synchronizes nearly five times faster than current software and supports this month’s Ironwood upgrade, part of the Tachyon initiative aimed at achieving Visa-level throughput
- Ledger is promoting a system where AI agents manage crypto without needing to hold private keys, proposing a method for autonomous agents to execute transactions while retaining custody with the user
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
- NFT leaders showed slight declines; Punks down 1% at 32 ETH, BAYC down 1% at 8.87 ETH, Pudgy down 4% at 4.26 ETH; Hypurr remained stable at 188 HYPE
- Azuki (+11%) and The Pup Cup (+170%) were the top performers