Author: Deep Tide TechFlow
Yesterday's Market Dynamics
Fed Plans to Permanently Remove "Reputational Risk" Regulatory Requirement, Potentially Easing Crypto Firms' "De-banking" Dilemma
According to The Block, the Federal Reserve recently proposed a plan to permanently remove the "reputational risk" consideration from the bank regulatory framework and has opened a 60-day public comment period. The proposal aims to ensure that bank regulatory decisions are based solely on substantive financial risks, preventing banks from denying services to clients due to their political views, religious beliefs, or involvement in legal but sensitive industries. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman stated that she has heard of multiple "de-banking" cases and that such discriminatory behavior should not exist within the Fed's regulatory framework. Senator Cynthia Lummis welcomed the proposal, saying it will help the U.S. become a global digital asset hub.
Emirates NBD Exploring Possibility of Adding BTC to Investment Portfolio
Maurice Gravier, Group Chief Investment Officer of Emirates NBD, one of the largest banks in the UAE, stated in an interview with CNBC that the bank views Bitcoin as "digital gold" and is exploring the possibility of adding BTC to its investment portfolio. However, he noted that reasonably valuing Bitcoin remains challenging against the backdrop of ongoing market volatility. He also mentioned that Bitcoin's positioning has evolved from initially being seen as an alternative currency to a store of value.
Fortune Magazine: White House Says President Trump Will Not Grant SBF a Pardon
According to Fortune, convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is campaigning on social media for a presidential pardon, but a White House spokesperson reiterated to Fortune that President Trump has no intention of pardoning him.
Although Bankman-Fried was a major donor to the Democratic Party, his recent remarks on social platform X have noticeably shifted towards supporting the MAGA stance, criticizing the "deep state" and praising Trump. This strategy emerges against the backdrop of the Trump administration's lenient attitude towards cryptocurrency regulation and its previous pardons, including for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.
Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison while simultaneously challenging his conviction in a federal appeals court. The White House spokesperson cited Trump's statement from January of this year, confirming that the President does not intend to pardon Bankman-Fried or several other high-profile prisoners.
Ethereum Foundation Announces It Has Begun Staking Its Treasury Funds, Plans to Stake a Total of Approximately 70,000 ETH
The Ethereum Foundation announced that it has begun staking its treasury funds, with an initial deposit of 2016 ETH, and plans to stake a total of approximately 70,000 ETH. This move aligns with the Foundation's treasury policy announced last year, and all staking rewards will be returned to the Foundation's treasury.
The Foundation is using the open-source software Dirk and Vouch, developed by @AttestantIO, for operations, ensuring multi-jurisdictional operation through distributed signers to avoid single points of failure. The Foundation stated that this initiative not only helps secure the Ethereum network but will also provide funding support for core operations such as protocol research and development, ecosystem growth, and community grants.
Kraken Launches 24/7 Trading of Tokenized Assets
According to CoinDesk, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced the launch of the world's first regulated trading service for tokenized stock perpetual contracts. The product is available to non-U.S. users in over 110 countries, supporting 24/7 trading of tokenized assets such as the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, and the SPDR Gold ETF, with leverage of up to 20x.
Kraken stated that the underlying tokenized stocks are fully collateralized 1:1 by the reference assets, providing a pricing anchor even when U.S. exchanges are closed. The company plans to expand its product line in the coming months by adding more tokenized stocks and ETFs.
Coinbase Launches Stock Trading Service for All U.S. Users, Enabling 24-Hour Trading 5 Days a Week
Coinbase has opened its stock trading feature to all U.S. users, allowing customers to trade stocks and ETFs 24 hours a day, five days a week. The platform offers commission-free trading and supports fractional share trading, with purchases starting as low as $1. Users can fund their trading accounts using USD and USDC, and Coinbase One members can also earn rewards based on their USDC trading balances.
As part of this new offering, Coinbase has partnered with Yahoo Finance, enabling users to jump directly from asset research pages on Yahoo Finance to execute trades on Coinbase. This integration allows traders to discover and track assets on the Yahoo interface and then complete transactions directly. The company stated that it will start with mainstream market stocks initially and plans to expand 24/5 trading to more stocks in the coming months; it also plans to expand its stock perpetual product range this spring, enabling traders outside the U.S. to gain exposure to U.S. stocks around the clock.
Meta Plans to Relaunch Stablecoin Project in Second Half of 2026
According to CoinDesk, informed sources revealed that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, plans to re-enter the stablecoin arena in the second half of 2026 and is currently seeking partnerships with third-party vendors to manage stablecoin payments and implement new wallet features. Sources mentioned that Meta has sent out Requests for Proposal (RFPs) to several third-party companies, with payments giant Stripe seen as a potential partner; Stripe acquired stablecoin specialist Bridge last year.
This would be Meta's second attempt at a stablecoin following its 2019 effort to launch Libra (later renamed Diem). Unlike before, Meta is adopting an "arm's length" strategy this time, relying on third parties to manage the payment system to avoid potential regulatory risks.
Informed Sources: Stripe Considering Acquiring All or Part of Paypal's Business
According to informed sources, payment processing company Stripe is considering acquiring all or part of Paypal's (PYPL.O) business. Sources revealed that Stripe, one of the most valuable companies in the industry, has preliminarily expressed interest in acquiring this digital payments pioneer or its assets. Sources indicated that discussions are still in the early stages, and it is uncertain whether a deal will ultimately be reached.
Crypto.com Receives Conditional Approval from U.S. OCC to Establish National Trust Bank
According to an official announcement from Crypto.com, the company has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish the Foris Dax National Trust Bank (also known as Crypto.com National Trust Bank). Once fully approved, Crypto.com will operate as a federally regulated national trust bank, offering custody services, staking assets across various blockchain and digital asset protocols (including Cronos), and transaction settlement services, among others.
Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek stated that this milestone brings the company closer to meeting the demand from leading institutions for a one-stop, qualified custodian under federal regulation. The company submitted its application to the OCC in October 2025; this approval does not affect the ongoing operations of Crypto.com Custody Trust Company, which is regulated by the New Hampshire Banking Department as a qualified custodian.
Bloomberg: Hong Kong Stablecoin Payments Company RedotPay Considers U.S. IPO as Early as This Year, Potential Raise Exceeds $1 Billion
According to Bloomberg, Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments company RedotPay is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S., with a potential raise exceeding $1 billion.
Informed sources revealed that RedotPay is working with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and plans to list in New York as early as this year. The company may seek a valuation of over $4 billion.
Cipher Digital Announces Strategic Pivot from Bitcoin Mining to High-Performance Computing Data Center Business
According to CoinDesk, Cipher Digital (formerly Cipher Mining) announced a strategic pivot from Bitcoin mining to the high-performance computing (HPC) data center business and is rebranding as Cipher Digital. The company's Q4 revenue was $60 million, below analysts' expectations of $84.4 million; adjusted loss per share was $0.14, a wider loss than the expected $0.06. The company has signed a 15-year, 300-megawatt lease with Amazon AWS, a 10-year, 300-megawatt lease with Fluidstack and Google, and has raised $3.73 billion through three bond issuances to fund the Barber Lake and Black Pearl data center projects. Affected by the earnings, the company's stock fell approximately 5% in pre-market trading.
Market Dynamics
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