Traditional finance and crypto continue moving closer together as Standard Chartered and Circle launch institutional USDC minting and redemption through the bank's platform, while Anchorage Digital expands support for Ethereum liquid staking. Matt explains why stablecoins are rapidly becoming part of the global banking infrastructure and explores the debate over whether privately issued stablecoins could eventually become a backdoor alternative to central bank digital currencies.
The episode also covers Europe's MiCA regulations already undergoing review just days after taking full effect, Australia's expanded crypto travel rule, Bitget's launch of tokenized U.S. stock options, and a troubling rise in crypto-related kidnappings and extortion cases in France. Matt also examines the continued legal battle over prediction markets as Kalshi and Polymarket see record World Cup trading volumes while facing regulatory challenges across multiple U.S. states.
Happy Hodling, Everyone.
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