blockchain

Ripple Labs, under CEO Brad Garlinghouse, is aggressively bridging Web3 and traditional finance. Speaking at Ripple Swell 2025, Garlinghouse outlined a strategy leveraging blockchain’s benefits for financial services, fueled by acquisitions like Hidden Road and GTreasury, totaling $4B. The company launched Ripple Prime, a brokerage for U.S. institutions. This move aligns with increased institutional digital asset interest and a more favorable regulatory environment. Ripple also aims to license XRP Ledger technology, despite regulatory delays hindering broader institutional adoption.

Metalpha Technology (MATH) and Avenir Group, a major Bitcoin ETF holder, announced a strategic MOU to collaborate on digital asset innovation. The partnership will focus on developing advanced technology solutions in areas like digital asset management, trading infrastructure, and liquidity. By combining Metalpha’s technological expertise with Avenir’s market influence, the collaboration aims to accelerate institutional adoption and drive growth within the digital asset ecosystem, creating next-generation infrastructure for the digital economy.

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters predicts blockchain will underpin almost all global transactions, digitizing money and transforming finance. The bank is actively expanding its digital asset presence, offering custody services, trading platforms, and tokenized products. Winters praised Hong Kong’s proactive approach to digital asset regulation, highlighting the city’s ambition to become a crypto hub. Standard Chartered is involved in launching a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin, aligning with the city’s new regulatory framework. Other fintech leaders see tokenization as a revolution for investing, increasing efficiency and access to illiquid assets.

Cryptocurrencies’ direct use in real estate is limited, but blockchain’s potential to revolutionize Commercial Real Estate (CRE) is significant. Experts like Tony Giordano foresee widespread adoption within a decade. Blockchain offers secure data storage for property records and facilitates tokenization, enabling fractional ownership and streamlined trading. Deloitte projects trillions of dollars in economic activity through tokenization by 2035. AI combined with blockchain can also enhance CRE finance by facilitating mortgage and interest rate transfers, avoiding prepayment penalties and freeing up capital.

Citi plans to launch a cryptocurrency custody service in 2026, driven by regulatory clarity and client demand, according to a senior executive. This service aims to provide institutional clients with secure management of digital assets. Citi is also exploring stablecoins for use in regions with less developed banking infrastructure and has invested in stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK. Other Wall Street firms, like JPMorgan and Bank of America, are also evaluating stablecoins, though approaches to crypto custody vary.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev predicts tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) will revolutionize global finance, impacting equities and real estate. He believes major markets will establish frameworks within five years. Robinhood already offers tokenized U.S. stocks in the EU. Tenev sees tokenization increasing liquidity and democratizing investment access. He anticipates a merger between cryptocurrency and traditional finance, driven by the advantages of blockchain technology. While Europe may lead in regulation, the trend seems unstoppable with involvement from institutions like Morgan Stanley and BlackRock.

SonicStrategy Inc. announced Dustin Zinger as CEO, replacing Mitchell Demeter who becomes Executive Chair and CEO of Sonic Labs. This aims to strengthen validator operations and network growth. The company also commenced trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and initiated a €100,000 marketing campaign to target European investors. The leadership shift and expanded market presence are designed to accelerate growth in the blockchain validation market.

Ant Digital Technologies introduced “Agentic Contract,” an AI-driven upgrade to smart contracts for its Jovay Layer2 blockchain, at the 2025 Inclusion·Bund Conference. Agentic Contracts enhance traditional smart contracts by integrating AI agents, enabling autonomous decision-making based on real-time data and logical reasoning. This evolution from pre-programmed automation to intelligent contracts aims to optimize asset flow and facilitate the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), supported by verifiable computing engines (TEE & ZKP) to ensure trust and reliability. Ant Digital emphasizes open collaboration to drive this Web3+AI innovation.

Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives joins Eightco Holdings as chairman, coinciding with a $250 million private placement to strategically invest in Worldcoin (WLD). Eightco will rebrand to “ORBS,” mirroring Fundstrat’s Tom Lee’s previous move into blockchain. Ives believes Worldcoin offers critical identity verification in the age of AI, addressing a key limitation for AI’s growth. This trend reflects growing corporate interest in crypto treasury strategies beyond Bitcoin, fueled by increasing regulatory clarity and high-profile endorsements. Worldcoin aims to provide a “World ID” for human authentication in the face of deepfakes.

Robinhood is expanding its global reach with stock and ETF tokens for EU investors, marking a significant entry into the European market. The company is also developing its own Layer 2 blockchain for tokenized assets. Additionally, Robinhood is launching crypto perpetual futures in the EU and crypto staking for US customers, further broadening its crypto offerings and aiming to make investing more accessible worldwide.