Daily Edition · Page 6

THE DAILY INDEX

Technology, AI, software, security, crypto and business

MARKETS & BUSINESS

TLDR Crypto

SEC WILLING TO ENGAGE WITH TOKENIZED ASSET ISSUERS

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said the regulator is willing to engage with industry participants on tokenizing products, urging them to proactively communicate with the agency while emphasizing the complexity of how tokenized assets interact with traditional forms of the same security. Speaking at the Digital Assets Summit in Singapore, Peirce highlighted that depending on how assets are tokenized, they could represent "one of many different things," requiring a nuanced regulatory approach to handle scenarios where the same security exists simultaneously in paper, electronic, and blockchain-based token forms. The tokenization market currently stands at $31 billion with $714 million in tokenized stocks, and McKinsey projects the market could reach $2 trillion by 2030 as financial institutions increasingly adopt tokenization to enhance liquidity and operational efficiency.

INTRODUCING OPEN ISSUANCE FROM STRIPE AND BRIDGE

Bridge's Open Issuance is a platform that allows any business to create and manage custom stablecoins in just days while handling reserve management, security, liquidity, and GENIUS-ready compliance. It addresses the limitation of building on external stablecoin providers, where businesses face unpredictable fees and lack control over economics or product roadmaps. The platform enables full customization, including blockchain support, smart contract functionality, and reserve mix allocations balanced between cash and treasuries through partnerships with BlackRock, Fidelity, and Superstate, while providing tools for adoption. Open Issuance solves the liquidity challenge through a unified network where businesses can enable one-for-one interoperability swaps between Open Issuance stablecoins, expanding overall liquidity as new coins launch and allowing instant, permissionless onchain transactions without intermediaries. Existing Bridge-issued coins will migrate to the new platform.

VISA TESTS STABLECOIN PAYMENTS FOR CROSS-BORDER TRANSFERS

Visa has launched a pilot allowing businesses to pre-fund Visa Direct with USDC and EURC, treating them as available balances for instant cross-border payouts instead of locking up fiat days in advance. The initiative aims to cut settlement times from days to minutes, improve liquidity access, and support programmable payments, with limited availability planned by April 2026. While Visa is not ruling out issuing its own stablecoin, the focus is on scaling existing assets, extending its broader stablecoin strategy that includes card-linked spending, African payments with Yellow Card, and developer integrations via Stripe-owned Bridge.

HOW TO ACT LIKE A GENIUS?

The GENIUS Act establishes a federal framework for payment stablecoins, allowing banks and federally recognized nonbanks to issue stablecoins under strict reserve, custody, governance, and compliance rules. State issuers can participate if their regimes substantially mirror federal standards and issuance stays under $10 billion. Compliance requirements include face-value redemptions within defined timeframes, backing with safe liquid assets like cash and short-dated Treasuries with monthly reserve reports, capital buffers above reserves, full AML/BSA programs, lawful freeze capabilities, and prohibitions against coercive tying arrangements that force stablecoin usage for other services. The framework prohibits paying holders interest for simply using or holding stablecoins but allows rewards tied to usage, loyalty programs, whitelabeled issuance, and merchant involvement focused on service value rather than interest distributions. Only US-formed entities can issue domestically for full access. Foreign issuers face restrictions and second-tier status unless exceptional compliance is achieved. Key implementation dates include regulator rulemaking by July 2026, GENIUS taking effect by January 2027, and restricted status for non-compliant foreign stablecoins on US platforms by July 2028.

YOU CAN JUST DO THINGS

Despite building MegaETH, a scaling protocol with "ETH" in its name, the Mega team hadn't spoken to the Ethereum Foundation until two weeks ago, when they joined a call with the foundation chair, research lead, and ecosystem head that felt more like a customer interview than a formal partnership discussion. Despite eight years in crypto and building at Consensys, the author had never interacted with the EF either, highlighting Ethereum's unique approach of "not grabbing power, but giving it up" as the most counterintuitive and inspiring ideology in crypto. Beyond ideological considerations, Ethereum represents the "Sleeping Beauty" test - if you had to park money for twenty years, you'd choose Bitcoin or Ethereum over newer chains because "your money is safu onchain for many years to come." Ethereum's authenticity and innocence shine through its community-oriented approach, with even Foundation alignment rituals feeling more like community theater than power grabs, though its real struggle lies in communicating its timeless story to a world that anchors feelings on price, experiences, and social proof rather than decentralization principles.

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