OKX has added BitGo’s Off-Exchange Settlement platform for institutional clients in the United States. The integration allows firms to trade on OKX while holding their assets in BitGo’s cold custody.

The move is designed to reduce the need for clients to pre-fund exchange accounts before trading. It also gives institutions a way to keep assets with a third-party custodian while accessing liquidity on OKX.

OKX said the setup supports capital efficiency for professional traders and firms. Under the arrangement, BitGo serves as the custodian and settlement provider for trades executed on the exchange.

Exchange targets institutional growth in the US

The BitGo integration comes as OKX continues to build its US business. The exchange reentered the US market in April 2025 and appointed former Barclays director Roshan Robert as its US CEO. Robert said institutional investors need both asset protection and trading access. 

“Institutional capital entering crypto requires capital to be protected and to be put to work,” he stated. “Our proprietary custody infrastructure has been proven at scale, and our partnership with BitGo gives clients flexibility in how they protect assets while freeing capital to work harder.” 

The comments point to OKX’s effort to serve firms that want custody options outside the exchange.

ICE investment shapes OKX’s US plan

OKX’s latest step follows an investment by Intercontinental Exchange in early March. The investment valued OKX at $25 billion and gave ICE executives a board seat at the crypto exchange.

OKX Global CEO Star Xu said at the time that the partnership would help shape the company’s US strategy. He also described the exchange’s local presence as a “blank sheet of paper.” Xu said custody remains a core part of OKX’s business. 

“At the same time, we’ve expanded our custody partnerships with trusted leaders like BitGo to give clients greater flexibility and choice in how they secure their assets,” he stated.

Moreover, BitGo has offered off-exchange settlement services for several years. The platform supports settlement for digital asset trades made on third-party exchanges while assets remain under BitGo custody.

However, BitGo has also disclosed risks tied to the service. In its January IPO filing, the company cited operational, regulatory, and counterparty risks.

“Operational risks associated with our OES services include potential errors in processing trade data, delays or failures in asset transfers, employee or insider misconduct, cybersecurity incidents, technological disruptions and reconciliation errors,” BitGo said.

Prediction markets have a consistent line: their products are financial instruments, not bets. Wisconsin isn’t buying it, and in a new complaint targeting Kalshi, Coinbase, Polymarket, Robinhood and Crypto.com, the state is citing the companies’ own marketing to call them unlicensed gambling venues.

“Thinly disguising unlawful conduct doesn’t make it lawful,” Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a press release announcing the complaints on Thursday.

The question underneath the lawsuits is straightforward: are these contracts financial instruments under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), or bets under state gambling law? The answer determines whether a fast-growing market operates under a single federal rulebook or is carved up across 50 states under the jurisdiction of local gaming regulators. And it’s almost certainly headed to the Supreme Court.

Wisconsin’s complaints, filed in Dane County, target three parallel ecosystems.

One names Crypto.com and its derivatives arm. Another goes after Polymarket and affiliated entities. A third pulls in Kalshi alongside distribution partners Robinhood and Coinbase (both Robinhood and Coinbase route prediction market orders to Kalshi), arguing the platforms together facilitate sports betting for state residents.

Across all three, the legal theory is that so-called “event contracts” are wagers: users pay money to take a position on a real-world outcome and receive a fixed payout if they are correct.

In one example cited in the filings, traders could buy contracts tied to NCAA tournament games at prices that reflect implied probabilities, with winning positions paying out $1 and losing ones returning nothing.

State prosecutors also cite Kalshi’s own Instagram ads, which claim the platform is “The First Nationwide Legal Sports Betting Platform,” and Polymarket’s, which calls itself “a platform where people can bet on the outcome of future events.”

The state argued that the structure of prediction markets falls squarely within its statutory definition of a bet, regardless of how the products are labeled or who takes the other side of the trade.

The complaints also emphasize that platforms generate revenue by charging transaction fees on each contract, likening the model to a casino taking a cut of wagers placed on its floor.

Setting up a federalism fight

The industry’s defense rests on federal preemption. Kalshi, in particular, has argued that its contracts are swaps listed on a regulated exchange and therefore fall under the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction.

That position received a boost earlier this month when the Third Circuit sided with the company, treating the regulator’s decision not to block the contracts as effectively settling the jurisdictional question.

Across the U.S., state courts are consistent in taking a different position.

Nevada called the contracts “indistinguishable” from gambling. New York AG Letitia James said “each contract is a bet.”.

For now, Wisconsin’s suits add to a growing list of state challenges, each building a record that could ultimately force the Supreme Court of the United States to decide whether calling something a financial contract is enough to keep it from being treated as a bet.

Lido says only about 9% of EarnETH’s TVL is tied to hacked rsETH, roughly $70M has been recovered, and a $3M DAO first‑loss buffer stands between users and any final hit.

Lido has outlined the fallout from the KelpDAO rsETH exploit, stressing that the incident is contained to its leveraged Earn vaults and that its flagship staking products stETH and wstETH “remain unaffected” and “safe and stable.” The Kelp cross‑chain bridge hack on April 18 drained about 116,500 rsETH — roughly $292 million — and forced multiple DeFi protocols to freeze rsETH markets, including Lido’s EarnETH product.

According to Lido, only the EarnETH vault has direct rsETH exposure, representing around 9% of its total value locked — approximately $21.6 million via a leveraged rsETH/ETH position on Aave. Deposits and withdrawals for EarnETH have been paused by the vault’s managers while they work with Kelp, LayerZero, and lending protocols to determine how any losses or bad debt will be allocated.

9% rsETH hit, $70M recovered, first-loss buffer

The team said that about $70 million worth of ETH linked to the broader exploit has already been recovered, with additional asset recovery and loss-distribution talks still in progress. In parallel, EarnETH managers have “reduced leverage and optimized the position structure,” significantly cutting the vault’s wETH debt exposure to ease liquidity pressure in stressed lending markets.

If there is a residual loss once recovery efforts are complete, EarnETH can tap a $3 million “first-loss protection mechanism” funded by the Lido DAO treasury. That buffer, part of a $5 million DAO allocation approved in March, is designed so that DAO-owned vault shares absorb losses before they hit other depositors, effectively putting LDO governance capital in front of users in a downside scenario.

Other vaults steady, GGV under pressure

Lido added that its DVV and EarnUSD vaults are not exposed to rsETH and continue to operate normally. A GGV sub‑vault, however, is currently showing negative returns because it combined circular staking strategies with rising on‑chain lending rates, a mix that has become more expensive and less sustainable in the current environment.

Managers say they are actively rebalancing GGV’s positions and adjusting strategy parameters, while withdrawal requests across the Earn suite will be processed using valuations from before the Kelp incident to keep treatment consistent during the review period. Lido reiterated that the rsETH issue “does not involve the Lido staking protocol itself,” underscoring the separation between its experimental Earn products and the core liquid staking infrastructure that underpins stETH and wstETH across DeFi.

TLDR

• Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, and more than 100 crypto firms urged the Senate to advance the markup of the CLARITY Act.
• The industry groups warned that continued delays could push digital asset investment and jobs overseas.
• The Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association led the joint letter to lawmakers.
• Lawmakers postponed the January markup after disputes over stablecoin reward provisions.
• The CLARITY Act passed the House in July 2025 with a 294-134 vote.

Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, and over 100 crypto firms asked the Senate Banking Committee to move forward with the CLARITY Act markup. The companies sent a joint letter urging lawmakers to establish a federal market structure framework. They warned that delays could push investment, jobs, and innovation outside the United States.

Industry coalition calls for progress on Clarity Act

The Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association led the letter to Senate leaders. The groups stated that Congress must create a comprehensive federal framework for digital assets. They wrote that regulators alone cannot provide durable legal clarity.

The letter stressed that lawmakers should act without further delay. It argued that a predictable baseline would preserve US leadership in digital asset innovation. The signatories included Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, and more than 100 industry organizations.

The coalition urged the Senate Banking Committee to schedule a markup soon. They pointed to months of stalled negotiations on the legislation. They said, “Congress must move quickly to establish a predictable federal baseline.”

The industry groups also outlined core priorities in the bill. They called for keeping activity-based consumer rewards tied to payment stablecoins. They also sought clear disclosure rules and token certification standards.

They emphasized a clear division of authority between the SEC and the CFTC. They also requested protections for developers and service providers working on decentralized technologies. The letter addressed concerns about illicit finance safeguards.

Senate negotiations stall as stablecoin debate continues

Senate Banking Republicans released fact sheets on the CLARITY Act in January. They described the bill as a framework clarifying oversight between the SEC and the CFTC. The committee expected to hold a markup soon after that release.

However, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly opposed parts of the draft. He argued that some provisions would weaken the CFTC’s role. He also said the draft would “effectively kill stablecoin rewards.”

Lawmakers and industry participants disagreed over stablecoin reward provisions. Those disputes forced the committee to postpone its planned January debate. The legislation then remained under negotiation through March.

The bill passed the House in July 2025 by a 294-134 vote. Galaxy reported that the Senate has held intensive negotiations since January. The firm said lawmakers had expected a markup in late April.

That timetable began slipping after Senator Thom Tillis suggested waiting until May. As a result, the Senate Banking Committee did not confirm a markup date. The industry letter now urges the committee to move forward without further postponement.

Galaxy’s Alex Thorn says Strategy now holds more Bitcoin than BlackRock’s IBIT and, if its pace holds, could match Satoshi’s estimated 1.1m BTC stash within two years.

Thorn added that, if current accumulation trends continue, Strategy is on pace to catch or even surpass the legendary hoard attributed to Bitcoin’s (BTC) pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto within roughly two years. Satoshi’s cache is widely estimated at around 1.1 million BTC — roughly 5.5% of total supply — and has remained untouched since 2010, a fact that has long shaped market psychology around Bitcoin’s scarcity and “diamond hands” culture.

Bigger than the biggest ETF

BlackRock’s IBIT has dominated the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF landscape since launching in January 2024, amassing more than 700,000 BTC in under 18 months and at times holding over 56% of all spot ETF Bitcoin. Recent data put IBIT’s BTC exposure north of 800,000 coins, worth more than $50 billion at prevailing prices.

By contrast, Strategy’s treasury now holds an estimated 760,000 BTC or more after adding roughly 80,000 BTC year‑to‑date, according to figures cited by market analysts and recent research notes. One Binance‑hosted update earlier this month highlighted that Strategy still controls around 762,000 BTC even after pausing new purchases, underscoring its role as the largest corporate Bitcoin holder.

March to Satoshi‑scale holdings

The comparison with Satoshi is more than symbolism. Analysts point out that if Strategy’s buying pace remains anywhere near recent levels, its stack could cross the 1 million BTC mark within the next couple of years, placing it in the same league as the dormant founder coins that have never moved.

Such concentration raises both bullish and structural questions: bulls argue that deep‑pocketed, long‑term holders reduce available float and support price, while critics warn that megatreasuries and ETFs introduce corporate and regulatory chokepoints into what was designed as a decentralized asset. For now, Thorn’s takeaway is simple: in the competition to own the scarcest large‑cap asset in crypto, one aggressive buyer is closing in on the mythic benchmark set by Bitcoin’s creator.

TLDR

• Girin Labs integrated Girin Wallet with Doppler Finance to enable active XRP payments in daily transactions.
• The update allows users to spend XRP and RLUSD directly at checkout without giving up self-custody.
• Girin Wallet now supports near-instant settlement on the XRP Ledger for faster payment processing.
• The company launched the Girin Card waitlist to expand XRP payments into card-based retail use.
• The XRP Ledger expanded access through integration with the non-custodial LOBSTR wallet.

Girin Labs has advanced practical blockchain adoption through a new wallet integration focused on everyday payments. The company connected Girin Wallet with Doppler Finance to enable active asset use. The update supports XRP and RLUSD for secure, spendable, and productive transactions.

XRP Payments Move From Storage to Daily Transactions

Girin Labs integrated Girin Wallet with Doppler Finance’s yield infrastructure to activate XRP payments for real-world use. The company shifted focus from passive holding to functional spending. It stated that the goal is to make digital assets usable without surrendering control.

The integration connects users to an institutional-grade yield layer within the wallet. As a result, holders can access yield while keeping self-custody. Girin Labs said the structure supports sustainable utility and ongoing network participation.

The company confirmed that users retain direct control over private keys. However, they can still spend XRP and RLUSD at checkout. This structure aligns spending convenience with asset security.

Girin Labs stated, “Users should not choose between control and usability.” The firm added that the wallet keeps transactions direct and transparent. It also confirmed that settlement occurs on the XRP Ledger.

The update removes backend reconciliation delays common in card processing. Therefore, transactions finalize without extended confirmation times. The checkout process mirrors traditional card payments.

Girin Wallet now supports seamless point-of-sale transactions using XRP and RLUSD. The company reported that the experience feels familiar to standard debit usage. However, it runs entirely on blockchain infrastructure.

XRPL Ecosystem Growth Strengthens Everyday Access

Girin Labs opened the Girin Card waitlist through its latest wallet update. The release signals expansion into card-based XRP payments. The company confirmed that users can join directly within the app.

The firm described the Girin Card as a bridge between digital assets and retail spending. It said the card will allow payments wherever cards operate. The rollout marks a shift toward physical and digital payment access.

Beyond Girin Wallet, the XRP Ledger continues ecosystem expansion. The network recently connected with the non-custodial LOBSTR wallet. This integration broadens user access to XRPL-based assets.

LOBSTR allows users to manage assets without custodial intermediaries. Therefore, holders can control funds directly while accessing XRPL services. The connection improves wallet compatibility across platforms.

The XRP Ledger also supports near-instant settlement across borders. Ripple-enabled infrastructure processes transfer end-to-end without manual reconciliation. This structure reduces processing delays in international payments.

Traditional systems such as SWIFT often face last-mile settlement delays. In contrast, XRP Ledger transactions finalize rapidly across networks. The ledger records each transaction in real time.

As more applications integrate with XRPL, access continues to expand. Girin Wallet and LOBSTR now operate within the same network framework. The Girin Card waitlist remains active in the latest wallet release.

Anchorage Digital has integrated Marinade Finance to let institutional clients stake Solana (SOL) directly through Anchorage’s custody and wallet infrastructure. The move brings Marinade’s automated validator strategies into Anchorage’s platform, enabling stake deployment and yield generation without relinquishing asset control or leaving the custody environment.

In its Thursday announcement, Anchorage explained that the integration provides clients with access to Marinade’s staking capabilities within Anchorage’s custody stack and its Porto self-custody wallet. The arrangement is designed to keep staking and withdrawal rights distinct, allowing institutions to influence validator selection and earn staking rewards while retaining custody of their assets.

Institutions can choose between two distinct staking paths: a curated strategy that allocates SOL across roughly 30 KYC-verified validators for compliance-centric use cases (including regulated products like ETFs), and a dynamic strategy that spreads stake across hundreds of operators to optimize yield. The two options sit inside Anchorage’s unified interface for staking, custody, and asset management via the Porto wallet.

Key takeaways

• Institutions can stake Solana through Anchorage’s custody platform with Marinade’s automated strategies, without moving assets out of custody.
• Two distinct staking approaches are offered: a compliance-focused, curated validator set (~30 validators) and a broader, yield-driven set across hundreds of operators.
• The integration consolidates staking, custody, and asset management in a single interface via Anchorage’s Porto wallet.
• This move is part of a broader pattern of custodial yield strategies, as institutions seek crypto yields while keeping assets under professional custody.

Anchorage’s Marinade integration explained

Anchorage Digital, a San Francisco-based custodian that operates what is described as the first federally chartered crypto bank in the United States, is extending its custody capabilities to Solana staking through Marinade Finance. The arrangement lets institutional clients delegate stake and earn rewards through Marinade’s governance-enabled validators while Anchorage maintains control over private keys and custody arrangements. The setup explicitly separates the act of staking delegation from withdrawal rights, a distinction designed to reduce operational friction for institutions while preserving asset security.

The Marinade integration sits inside Anchorage’s existing platform and Porto wallet, where staking, custody, and asset management are unified. This reduces the need for clients to juggle multiple apps or custodial interfaces and aligns staking activity with traditional custody workflows.

Anchorage’s public filing notes that the bank has been exploring strategic options, including a potential fundraising round of $200 million to $400 million as it considers a broader path toward an initial public offering in the coming year. This context underscores the growing interest from institutional players in custody-first solutions that enable yield generation without compromising control over digital assets.

A broader trend: custody-led yield across assets

The Marinade move reflects a wider industry push to offer yield-generating capabilities on crypto holdings without moving assets out of custody. Recent months have seen several similar evolutions in the space.

Ripple expanded its institutional custody stack by integrating with Securosys and Figment, enabling banks and custodians to offer staking without managing validators or keys directly. The integration supports on-premises and cloud deployments with built-in compliance checks, illustrating how custody platforms are shifting toward more automated staking workflows.

Meanwhile, Anchorage itself expanded into restaking on Ethereum through a partnership with Puffer Finance, enabling institutions to stake ETH and receive pufETH—a transferable token representing a restaked position that continues earning rewards. These developments point to a broader appetite among asset managers and product issuers for yield strategies tied to proof-of-stake ecosystems, while keeping assets securely within established custody rails.

The momentum extends to Bitcoin-focused offerings as well. Lombard, in collaboration with Bitwise Asset Management, sought to bring Bitcoin yield and lending to institutional custody by pairing DeFi lending with tokenized real-world asset structures via Morpho. Fireblocks has also integrated with Stacks to provide institutional access to Bitcoin-based DeFi lending and yield, leveraging faster settlement cycles while preserving Bitcoin’s finality.

Taken together, the series of integrations signals a fast-growing ecosystem where custodians and treasury managers can access staking and DeFi-like yield without surrendering control of the underlying assets. The trend could redefine how institutions hedge, earn yield, and manage risk across multiple crypto ecosystems while staying within regulated custody environments.

For readers, the key question is how these custody-led yield options will balance risk, regulatory compliance, and long-term asset security as they scale. With a suite of compatible products expanding across Solana, Ethereum restaking, and Bitcoin-related DeFi yields, institutional participants now have a more cohesive, multi-chain toolkit to pursue yield without abandoning custody principles.