Crypto Morning Brief: Meta Plans to Relaunch Stablecoin Project; Ethereum Foundation Announces Staking of Treasury Funds

Author: TechFlow

Yesterday’s Market Highlights

Fed Proposes Permanent Removal of “Reputational Risk” Regulatory Requirement, Potentially Easing “De-banking” Challenges for Crypto Firms

According to The Block, the Federal Reserve recently released a proposal to permanently remove “reputational risk” as a consideration within its 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 material financial risks—preventing banks from denying services to customers due to their political views, religious beliefs, or involvement in legal yet sensitive industries. Michelle W. Bowman, the Fed’s Vice Chair for Supervision, stated that the Fed has heard numerous cases of “de-banking,” and such discriminatory practices have no place in the Fed’s supervisory framework. Senator Cynthia Lummis welcomed the proposal, saying it would help position the U.S. as a global digital asset hub.

Emirates NBD Exploring Bitcoin Inclusion in Investment Portfolio

Maurice Gravier, Group Chief Investment Officer of Emirates NBD—one of the UAE’s largest banks—told 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 fairly valuing Bitcoin remains challenging amid persistent market volatility. He added that Bitcoin’s role has evolved from an initial conception as an alternative currency to that of a store of value.

Fortune: White House Says President Trump Will Not Grant SBF a Pardon

According to Fortune, Sam Bankman-Fried—the convicted founder of FTX—is running a social media campaign seeking a presidential pardon. However, a White House spokesperson reaffirmed to Fortune that President Trump has no intention of pardoning him.

Although Bankman-Fried was previously a major Democratic donor, his recent posts on X (formerly Twitter) have shifted markedly toward MAGA-aligned rhetoric—criticizing the “deep state” and praising Trump. This pivot comes against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s relatively permissive stance on crypto regulation and its prior granting of pardons to figures including Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.

Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year federal prison sentence while also appealing his conviction in federal appellate court. The White House spokesperson cited Trump’s January statement confirming the president’s decision not to pardon Bankman-Fried or several other high-profile inmates.

Ethereum Foundation Announces It Has Begun Staking Treasury Funds, Targeting ~70,000 ETH

The Ethereum Foundation announced it has begun staking treasury funds, with an initial deposit of 2,016 ETH and a target of approximately 70,000 ETH in total. This move aligns with the Foundation’s treasury policy published last year; all staking rewards will flow back into the Foundation’s treasury.

The Foundation is using Dirk and Vouch—open-source software developed by @AttestantIO—to execute the operation. Distributed signers ensure multi-jurisdictional operation and mitigate single-point-of-failure risks. The Foundation stated this initiative not only bolsters Ethereum network security but also provides funding support for core activities—including protocol development, ecosystem growth, and community grants.

Kraken Launches 24/7 Trading for Tokenized Assets

According to CoinDesk, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has launched the world’s first regulated tokenized stock perpetual contract trading service. Available to non-U.S. users in over 110 countries, the product supports 24/7 trading of tokenized assets—including the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Apple, NVIDIA, Tesla, and the SPDR Gold ETF—with up to 20x leverage.

Kraken stated that the underlying tokenized stocks are fully backed 1:1 by reference assets, providing pricing anchors even when U.S. exchanges are closed. The company plans to expand its product suite in the coming months to include more tokenized stocks and ETFs.

Coinbase Launches Stock Trading for All U.S. Users, Enabling 24-Hour, 5-Day-Per-Week Trading

Coinbase has rolled out stock trading to all U.S. users, enabling clients to trade stocks and ETFs five days per week, 24 hours per day. The platform offers zero-commission trading and supports fractional shares, with purchases starting as low as $1. Users can fund their trading accounts with USD and USDC; Coinbase One members also earn rewards based on their USDC trading balances.

As part of this new offering, Coinbase has partnered with Yahoo Finance, allowing users to jump directly from Yahoo Finance’s asset research pages to execute trades on Coinbase. This integration enables traders to discover and track assets within the Yahoo interface and complete transactions seamlessly. The company said it will initially launch with widely traded stocks and plans to expand 24/5 trading to additional equities in the coming months; it also intends to broaden its stock perpetual offerings this spring, enabling non-U.S. traders to gain round-the-clock exposure to U.S. equities.

Meta Plans to Relaunch Stablecoin Project in Second Half of 2026

According to CoinDesk, sources familiar with the matter revealed that Meta—the parent company of Facebook—plans to re-enter the stablecoin space in the second half of 2026. It is currently seeking third-party partners to manage stablecoin payments and implement new wallet functionality. Sources indicated Meta has issued requests for proposals (RFPs) to multiple third-party firms, with payment giant Stripe considered a likely candidate—having acquired Bridge, a stablecoin specialist, last year.

This would mark Meta’s second stablecoin effort following its 2019 attempt to launch Libra (later renamed Diem). Unlike before, Meta is adopting a “hands-off” strategy this time, relying on third parties to operate the payment infrastructure to mitigate potential regulatory risks.

Sources: Stripe Considering Acquisition of All or Part of PayPal

According to sources familiar with the matter, payment processing firm Stripe is considering acquiring all or part of PayPal (PYPL.O). The sources said Stripe—one of the industry’s most valuable companies—has preliminarily expressed interest in acquiring the digital payments pioneer or certain of its assets. They added that discussions remain in early stages, and no deal is assured.

Crypto.com Receives Conditional Approval from 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 Foris Dax National Trust Bank (also known as Crypto.com National Trust Bank). Upon full approval, Crypto.com will operate as a federally regulated national trust bank, offering custody services, staking of digital assets across various blockchains and protocols—including Cronos—and trade settlement services.

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said this milestone brings the company closer to meeting leading institutions’ demand for a qualified, one-stop custodian operating under federal oversight. Crypto.com filed its application with the OCC in October 2025; this approval does not affect the ongoing operations of Crypto.com Custody Trust Company—a qualified custodian regulated by the New Hampshire Banking Department.

Bloomberg: Hong Kong-Based Stablecoin Payment Firm RedotPay Considering U.S. IPO as Early as This Year, Targeting Over $1 Billion in Funding

According to Bloomberg, RedotPay—a Hong Kong-based stablecoin payment company—is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, with potential fundraising exceeding $1 billion.

Sources said RedotPay is working with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Jefferies Financial Group Inc., aiming for a listing in New York as early as this year. The company may seek a valuation exceeding $4 billion.

Cipher Digital Announces Strategic Pivot from Bitcoin Mining to High-Performance Computing Data Centers

According to CoinDesk, Cipher Digital (formerly Cipher Mining) has announced a strategic pivot—from Bitcoin mining to operating high-performance computing (HPC) data centers—and has rebranded as Cipher Digital. Its Q4 revenue totaled $60 million, below analyst expectations of $84.4 million; adjusted EPS loss stood at $0.14, worse than the expected $0.06 loss. The company has signed a 15-year, 300-megawatt lease agreement with Amazon AWS and two 10-year, 300-megawatt agreements with Fluidstack and Google. It has raised $3.73 billion through three bond issuances to fund construction of its Barber Lake and Black Pearl data center projects. Following the earnings report, the company’s stock fell roughly 5% pre-market.

Market Data

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