Ric Edelman has predicted that up to 95% of institutions without crypto exposure could enter the market if the CLARITY Act becomes law.

In a recent interview, Edelman said the disconnect between crypto prices and industry activity has become increasingly noticeable as large financial firms continue expanding their blockchain and tokenization efforts.

While cryptocurrency markets have struggled to maintain momentum amid regulatory uncertainty, Edelman said major Wall Street institutions, including BlackRock, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Franklin Templeton, State Street, Invesco, and Fidelity, continue building products and services tied to digital assets.

“Crypto prices are not reflecting what’s happening in the world of crypto,” Edelman said, pointing to rising institutional engagement even as investors remain cautious.

Institutional demand continues to build

Drawing attention to recent industry surveys and conversations with market participants, Edelman said many institutions that currently have no crypto exposure are preparing to enter the sector.

According to Edelman, 95% of institutions that do not currently own crypto expect to make their first allocation this year. He added that roughly three-quarters of institutions that already hold digital assets intend to increase their existing exposure.

Even with those expectations, capital has not yet entered the market at the scale many industry participants anticipated. Edelman attributed part of that hesitation to uncertainty surrounding U.S. crypto legislation, periodic Bitcoin ETF outflows, and continued political opposition from lawmakers such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Career risk also remains a factor, according to Edelman, who said many decision-makers at financial firms remain more concerned about the professional consequences of adopting crypto than the potential long-term opportunities associated with the asset class.

Regulatory clarity remains the key catalyst

At the center of Edelman’s outlook is the CLARITY Act, a market structure bill that would establish rules governing digital assets and define regulatory responsibilities across the industry.

According to Edelman, many institutional investors view the legislation as the event that could finally provide the certainty needed for large-scale participation from traditional finance firms. He said passage of the bill would give companies clearer guidance on how to operate in the sector and could remove one of the biggest barriers to adoption.

His comments come as Senate lawmakers continue evaluating the legislation ahead of a narrowing legislative calendar. Although the U.S. House has scheduled a hearing on the bill for July 17, the Senate has not yet announced a floor vote date.

Additional scrutiny has emerged in recent weeks. The Alliance to End Human Trafficking (AEHT) has urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to revisit Section 604 of the legislation, which would incorporate the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.

In a letter to lawmakers, the organization argued the provision could create gaps that make it harder for authorities to track financial activity connected to crimes such as human trafficking and called for stronger anti-money laundering safeguards before the bill advances.

Despite those debates, Edelman noted that White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt had indicated the legislation could pass by July 4.

According to Edelman, a successful vote could encourage traditional financial institutions to become fully engaged in the crypto market. He also warned that delays or failure could weigh on sentiment as investors react to lost legislative momentum.

Looking beyond regulation, Edelman said he remains optimistic about digital assets and expects Bitcoin could eventually reach $150,000 or higher, although he added that regulatory developments are likely to play a major role in determining market performance this year.

TLDR:

• Brazil has prohibited cryptocurrency campaign donations to parties and candidates since December 2019.
• The TSE’s Resolution 23.607/2019 requires all donations to be fully identifiable by oversight agencies. 
• Online crowdfunding is permitted on TSE-authorized platforms, provided every donor is fully identified. 
• Violations carry fines, mandatory Treasury repayments, and potential economic power abuse charges

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Brazil has prohibited political parties and candidates from accepting cryptocurrency campaign donations under electoral rules that have been in force since 2019.

The Federal Public Ministry confirmed the ban applies to all virtual currencies, citing transparency as the core justification.

With the first election round scheduled for October 4, the reminder comes at a critical point in Brazil’s campaign finance calendar, as candidates and parties prepare to mobilize funding.

Why Brazil Prohibits Cryptocurrency Campaign Donations

The Superior Electoral Court’s Resolution 23.607/2019 established the legal basis for the prohibition. Under the resolution, all electoral donations must be fully identifiable, with clear records linking funds to their source. Cryptocurrencies, by their pseudonymous design, make that level of traceability difficult to achieve consistently.

Brazil’s Federal Public Ministry published its explanation as part of the recurring “Explain me, MPF!” series. The ministry stated that electoral legislation “does not allow financial donations to candidates and parties with the use of virtual currencies,” framing transparency as the governing principle behind the rule. That publication arrived ahead of campaign season, which officially opens August 16.

Accepted donation methods remain limited to bank transfers with registered CPF identification and PIX transactions.

All received contributions must be reported and proven in each candidate’s or party’s electoral accountability filings. Regulators require that documentation to confirm funds originated from permissible sources.

Parties and candidates that accept prohibited donations face fines, mandatory repayment to the National Treasury, and potential charges of economic power abuse.

The Electoral Public Prosecutor’s Office holds authority to investigate illegal contributions, omitted records, and irregular resource use throughout the campaign period.

Crowdfunding Remains Permitted Under Strict Identification Rules

Brazil’s prohibition on cryptocurrency campaign donations does not extend to online crowdfunding, which regulators treat as a separate category.

The MPF drew a clear distinction, noting that “virtual currency is different from virtual kitty or crowdfunding,” with the latter permitted on TSE-registered platforms since May 15. That clarification is intended to prevent candidates from conflating the two fundraising methods.

Every crowdfunding contribution still requires full identification of the donor, maintaining the same transparency standard applied to traditional bank transfers.

The ministry confirmed that “every donation needs to identify who donated,” and that funds can only be used after formal candidacy registration. That sequencing ensures oversight agencies can review contributions before they enter active campaign use.

The Central Bank of Brazil broadened its regulatory approach in April by banning prediction markets tied to election outcomes.

That decision directly affected platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi, which were already facing regulatory resistance in other jurisdictions, including the United States.

Brazil’s elections cover races for state deputy, federal deputy, senator, governor, and president in the first round on October 4. A second round for governor and president, if required, follows on October 25.

As campaign activity intensifies, the prohibition on cryptocurrency campaign donations is now a firmly established compliance requirement that all participating political entities must observe.

Bitcoin’s BTC$62,403.71 fall below $60,000 on June 5, its lowest level since late 2024, reflects a convergence of macroeconomic and structural pressures, according to Deutsche Bank (DB), which said BTC is increasingly trading like an institutional risk asset rather than a retail-driven speculative bet.

The investment bank said bitcoin’s renewed sell-off was driven by a hawkish shift in Federal Reserve expectations, sustained outflows from U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a confidence shock following Strategy’s (MSTR) first BTC sale since 2022, and a broader rotation of investor capital into artificial intelligence.

“Bitcoin is not disappearing; it is maturing into an institutional asset whose price is set by fund flows, Fed expectations, competing risk themes, and legislative outcomes,” analyst Marion Laboure said in the Tuesday report.

BTC has struggled in recent weeks, briefly falling below $60,000 on June 5 before rebounding to around $62,000-$63,000. Bitcoin remains more than 50% below its October 2025 record high, pressured by a hawkish shift in Federal Reserve expectations, persistent outflows from spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds and a broader pullback in risk appetite.

Cody Carbone, CEO of the cryptocurrency advocacy group The Digital Chamber, received a largely muted response to his testimony at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on affordability.

In a Tuesday hearing titled The Affordability Agenda, Carbone said that the digital asset industry could help solve affordability problems in the United States, including through faster and cheaper transactions, putting “competitive pressure” on existing payment systems, and reducing barriers to “owning and transferring assets.”

However, the majority of lawmakers present did not question Carbone directly or inquire about digital assets, with the exception of Indiana Senator Tim Banks and Louisiana Senator John Kennedy. Banks asked the Digital Chamber CEO about the costs related to foreign remittances compared to US dollar-pegged stablecoins, while Kennedy largely dismissed Carbone’s testimony.

“Mr. Carbone, you seem to be here to promote cryptocurrency,” said Kennedy. “I love cryptocurrency, but I don’t think that’s the problem with our economy.”

The Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone speaking on Tuesday. Source: Senate Banking Committee

Carbone’s remarks centered around the US Senate moving forward on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, which the banking committee advanced in May. The full chamber is expected to vote on the legislation in a matter of weeks, but many lawmakers are calling for additional ethics provisions, potentially complicating passage in the Senate.

Related: Crypto lobby urges Congress to pass staking and mining tax bill as is

CLARITY Act still in limbo amid pushback from interest groups

In addition to lawmakers’ concerns about ethics in the crypto market structure bill, last week gambling industry groups called for the Senate to clarify that the legislation would not allow the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to oversee sports betting in prediction markets. The financial regulator, under Chair Michael Selig, has claimed “exclusive jurisdiction” over platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

Some lawmakers expect that the CLARITY Act will pass through the Senate before the chamber breaks for an August recess. As of Tuesday, no floor vote was scheduled in the Senate.

Magazine: Japanese pension fund tips 1% in crypto, G7 urges action on NK hackers: Asia Express

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

TLDR:

• Project Pangea unites 47+ European and Korean banks to pursue atomic T+0 FX settlement via stablecoins.
• Chainlink CCIP, Data Streams, and the Runtime Environment form the project’s core connectivity layer. 
• FairSquareLab’s Pangea L1 enforces oracle-first transaction ordering for real-time interbank FX swaps. 
• Qivalis and its 37-bank euro stablecoin consortium serve as the EUR anchor for Project Pangea flows. 

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Chainlink has joined forces with European and South Korean banking consortia to launch Project Pangea, a working group targeting real-time T+0 foreign exchange settlement through stablecoin infrastructure.

A Multi-Trillion Dollar Push for Atomic FX Settlement

Project Pangea brings together Chainlink, FairSquareLab, UniKA, and Qivalis under one strategic task force. The coalition collectively represents over $10 trillion in assets under management.

UniKA’s steering committee includes Shinhan Bank, JB Bank, Kbank, FairSquareLab, and OBDIA. More than ten additional Korean commercial banks are participating in the initiative alongside them.

The global FX market processes over $9.6 trillion in daily trading volume. Despite this scale, the traditional infrastructure remains fragmented and slow.

Cross-border transactions often require institutions to convert capital through intermediary currencies, causing delays.

Project Pangea targets this bottleneck directly through atomic Payment-versus-Payment swaps of regulated EUR and KRW stablecoins.

Chainlink Labs President of Capital Markets Fernando Vazquez described the launch as a structural shift rather than an incremental upgrade, saying the project “upgrades the fragmented foreign exchange model of today with direct, atomic currency swaps using stablecoins.”

The initiative uses ISO 20022 messaging standards and existing Swift infrastructure to bridge legacy systems with blockchain rails.

This means participating banks do not need to overhaul internal payment operations to connect. Vazquez added that Project Pangea represents “a clear signal that global finance is increasingly moving onchain.”

FairSquareLab CEO Joonhong Kim pointed to a broader strategic outcome for South Korea, stating that “for Korea, Project Pangea is more than an efficiency gain — it opens a path for the Korean won to connect more directly with global currency markets.”

The initiative also aims to reduce the won’s dependence on intermediary currencies in cross-border flows. Kim noted that FairSquareLab, leading the UniKA alliance alongside Qivalis and Chainlink, is “building a network that brings the Korean banking sector into a new era of real-time, cross-border settlement.“ That alone marks a structural change for Korean institutions operating across international corridors.

Three-Layer Architecture Powers the Settlement Network

The technical design of Project Pangea is built across three distinct layers. The banking layer handles Swift and ISO 20022 payment messaging.

The connectivity layer runs through Chainlink’s CCIP and Data Streams infrastructure. Settlement occurs at the third layer through Pangea AMM smart contracts deployed on Ethereum, Polygon, and the Pangea L1 network.

FairSquareLab’s Pangea L1 is a settlement-dedicated blockchain operating from neutral ground, independent of any single country or participating bank.

At the protocol level, oracle data updates execute ahead of every other transaction in each block. This design ensures all FX swaps settle against the current market price without manipulation risk.

Banks continue using familiar payment messaging, with instructions translated into onchain settlement actions through Chainlink CCIP.

Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol handles secure EUR stablecoin transfers between native networks and the KRW settlement chain. Data Streams feed real-time FX market data into the Proactive Market Maker engine.

The Chainlink Runtime Environment serves as the orchestration layer between Swift and the blockchain settlement stack.

Together, these components allow institutions to plug into onchain finance through their existing messaging systems.

Qivalis Head of Partnerships APAC Jean-Luc Gustave outlined the capital efficiency case for global institutions, saying that “migrating to a friction-free cross-border model could unlock significant capital efficiency by eliminating traditional settlement risk and reducing intraday liquidity costs.”

He framed the project as proof that next-generation infrastructure can “optimize international trade corridors” beyond theoretical use cases.

Qivalis’s euro stablecoin consortium, backed by 37 European banks, stands to become a core currency layer within the network.

The initiative positions regulated stablecoins as institutional-grade instruments for high-volume FX flows between Europe and Asia.

FairSquareLab’s onchain FX engine anchors price discovery to trusted oracle quotes rather than bonding curves, while per-asset depletion barriers protect pool liquidity from exhaustion during large interbank conversions.

The result is a predictable settlement structure built to handle institutional scale. Enterprise fees within the Chainlink ecosystem are programmatically converted to LINK tokens and stored in the Chainlink Reserve to support long-term network sustainability.

Project Pangea is designed to scale into a multi-currency settlement network as additional corridors and institutions join the working group.