Weekly Newsletter, 30 May 2025

GENIUS Act: stablecoins poised for regulatory Clarity

Stablecoins, long stuck between state money-transmitter licenses and federal skepticism, may very soon make a quantum leap forward and get a single regulatory playbook. On May 19th the Senate voted 66-32 to move the so-called GENIUS Act into formal debate, easily clearing the filibuster bar and putting a final vote only days away. If the bill reaches the House intact, the United States will have its first nationwide framework for dollar-backed tokens.

The draft rules are perfectly clear. Any FDIC bank, regulated fintech or state-chartered trust could issue a payment stablecoin, provided every digital dollar is matched one-for-one with cash, Fed deposits or Treasuries maturing in under three months. Issuers will have to publish reserve and supply figures every thirty days, and submit those numbers to outside auditors, turning today’s marketing claims into legally enforceable facts.

Turning this bill into law signifies a massive amount of progression in blockchain’s regulatory trajectory. This bodes well for the broader market structure bill that is slated for later this year. Giving regulatory clarity on stablecoins means that crypto’s first killer use case will enter the mainstream. Expect an explosion of stablecoins, and not just from financial institutions like JPMorgan and Wells Fargo. The bill also opens the door to non-banks and regional institutions. New entrants are likely to include community lenders to consumer apps, each competing to put their own branded dollar in your wallet.

As investors in this technology since 2017, seeing these massive unlocks happening before our eyes feels slightly unreal given the regulatory backdrop of the last couple of years. But we are (as always) extremely excited to be at the forefront.

Also this week

Relevant financial updates

Sophon*, an entertainment-focused blockchain ecosystem that facilitates high-throughput applications such as artificial intelligence and gaming, had its TGE and is currently trading at a $509mln FDV
Huma*, the first PayFi (Payment Finance) network, built to accelerate global payments with instant access to liquidity, had its TGE and is currently trading at a $442mln FDV
SOON*, a decentralized platform focused on building a decoupled SVM stack that optimizes transaction efficiency for Web3 applications, had its TGE and is currently trading at a $372mln FDV
Plasma*, a high-throughput, scalable blockchain purpose-built for stablecoins, whose transactions settle on Bitcoin, has raised an undisclosed amount in a Strategic funding round with investments from Founders Fund
Hyperdrive*, a DeFi platform on Hyperliquid offering USDC yield strategies, collateralized borrowing, liquid staking of HYPE tokens, and leveraged exposure to HLP vaults, has raised $6mln in a Series A funding round with investments from CMS Holdings, Delphi Ventures, Arrington XRP Capital, Hack VC, Amber Group and 8 others
Mirage*, a DeFi protocol built on Aptos that enables trading of synthetic assets and perpetual futures across cryptocurrencies, equities, commodities, and currencies, has raised $1.60mln in a funding round with investments from Robot Ventures, Selini Capital, Echo, Ambush Capital, Norbert Bodziony and 2 others
Avalon Finance*, a decentralized finance platform offering services in cryptocurrency lending, borrowing, and trading, has raised an undisclosed amount in a Strategic funding round with investments from YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs), Mirana Ventures, GSR Ventures and CE Innovation Capital
Asigna*, a non-custodial multisig vault platform for Bitcoin and its Layer-2 protocols, enabling secure multi-party management of digital assets, has raised $3mln in a Seed funding round with investments from Portal Ventures, Bitcoin Frontier Fund, Hivemind Capital Partners, Tykhe Block Ventures, Sats Ventures and 1 other
Strive Asset Management, an investment firm offering ETFs, 401(k) plans, direct indexing, and wealth management services, and that also implements a Bitcoin treasury strategy, has raised $750mln in a Post IPO funding round
FalconX, a digital asset platform specializing in institutional crypto trading, has raised $100mln in a Debt Financing funding round with investments from Cantor Fitzgerald
Beam*, a payments infrastructure company that enables users to send and receive stablecoin payments via messaging platforms, has raised $7mln in a funding round with investments from Castle Island Ventures, Bankless Ventures, Arca, Archetype, Verda Ventures and 1 other
Conduit*, a company that offers services for making payments in USD without needing a US bank account, handling global cash flow, and managing accounts payable, has raised $36mln in a Series A funding round with investments from Digital Currency Group, Dragonfly, Circle Ventures, Sound Ventures, Portage Ventures and 3 others
Oncade*, a Web3-native game distribution platform allowing developers to sell directly to players, avoiding standard platform fees, has raised $4mln in a Seed funding round with investments from a16z
Rumi Labs*, a Web3 indexing browser extension enabling users to earn rewards while watching content, has raised $4.70mln in a Pre Seed funding round with investments from a16z and Escape Velocity (EV3)
Donut Labs*, a company developing an AI-powered crypto browser that autonomously executes blockchain transactions such as token swaps, yield farming, and portfolio optimization, has raised $7mln in a Pre Seed funding round with investments from Hack VC, Bitkraft Ventures, Sky9 Capital, Makers Fund, Vessel Capital and 6 others

*Underlying TBV portfolio position | Prices as per 30/05

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