An 80 million user fintech started distributing EURR in three European countries on August 26. Tether has been locked out of the same market since July 1. The stablecoin war is no longer about which token is biggest. It is about which one is allowed to exist.

Tether has spent a decade building the most widely used stablecoin in the world. As of August 2026, USDT commands 59% of the global stablecoin market, with $186 billion in circulation across every major blockchain and exchange. By any conventional measure, it is the most successful cryptocurrency product ever created.

On July 1, 2026, it ceased to exist in Europe.

That is not an exaggeration. When the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets regulation reached full enforcement, every MiCA licensed exchange in the European Economic Area was required to delist tokens that had not obtained e money authorization. Tether never applied. The company publicly objected to MiCA’s requirement that 60% of stablecoin reserves be held in EU bank deposits, arguing that it would reduce the yield on reserves and create unnecessary counterparty risk. The result was immediate: Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and every other regulated exchange in Europe removed USDT trading pairs for EEA users.

Less than two months later, Revolut announced the rollout of EURR, a euro backed stablecoin, to customers in Denmark, Poland, and Portugal. The timing was not coincidental. Tether’s absence created a vacuum, and the largest fintech in Europe moved to fill it with a product designed from day one to comply with the regulation that Tether refused.

What EURR actually is

EURR is not Revolut’s creation. The token is issued by Bridge Building S.A., the Luxembourg based entity of Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure company acquired by Stripe in 2024 for $1.1 billion. Bridge handles the token issuance, reserve management, and MiCA compliance. Revolut provides the distribution channel.

The arrangement mirrors how traditional finance has always worked: a regulated issuer creates the product, and a distribution partner brings it to customers. In this case, Bridge builds and manages the stablecoin, and Revolut integrates it into an app that 80 million people already use. The partnership gives EURR something no other euro stablecoin has: instant access to a massive, pre existing user base that already has verified identities, linked bank accounts, and familiarity with buying digital assets.

EURR launched initially on Ethereum with plans to expand to additional blockchain networks. It is designed to maintain a one to one peg with the euro, backed by reserves held and managed by Bridge in accordance with MiCA requirements. Revolut’s standard crypto trading limits apply, and fiat conversions carry no fees or spreads, a pricing decision that positions EURR as a gateway product meant to expand Revolut’s crypto ecosystem rather than generate direct stablecoin revenue.

The company stated that EURR is “only the first step” in a planned suite of stablecoins denominated in multiple currencies. That language suggests Revolut intends to build a multi currency stablecoin platform leveraging its banking licenses in the UK, EU, and other jurisdictions.

Why Tether walked away from Europe

Tether’s decision to skip MiCA authorization was not impulsive. It was a calculated judgment that the European market was not worth the structural changes MiCA would require.

The core objection centered on the 60% bank deposit requirement. Under MiCA, stablecoin issuers must hold at least 60% of their reserves in bank deposits at EU credit institutions. Tether’s current reserve composition is heavily weighted toward US Treasury bills, which yield approximately 4.5% annually. Shifting 60% of a $186 billion reserve base into bank deposits would reduce Tether’s yield income by billions of dollars per year while introducing counterparty risk to European banks that Tether views as less stable than US government debt.

The math made the decision straightforward. Tether reported $5.2 billion in net profit for the first half of 2026, almost entirely from interest on Treasury holdings. Complying with MiCA would have reduced that figure by an estimated $2 to $3 billion annually (the yield difference between Treasuries and EU bank deposits on $112 billion in reserves), while the European market represents less than 10% of USDT’s global usage.

Tether chose profits over geography. And for its global business, the decision has been vindicated: USDT’s total supply has continued growing since the MiCA deadline, as demand from Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa more than compensates for the European loss. Research released in July 2026 found that the combined market share of USDT and USDC “barely moved” after the delisting, because European USDT users migrated to decentralized exchanges instead of switching to USDC.

But “barely moved” in market share terms masks a real shift in how European users interact with stablecoins. Moving from regulated exchanges to DEXs introduces smart contract risk, higher fees, and reduced consumer protections. The MiCA deadline did not eliminate USDT demand in Europe. It pushed it underground.

The Circle monopoly problem

With Tether excluded, Circle’s USDC and EURC have become the only large cap stablecoins available on MiCA licensed exchanges. Of the world’s 50 largest stablecoins by market capitalization, only three satisfy MiCA requirements: USDC, EURC (both issued by Circle under French authorization), and USDG (issued under a Paxos linked structure). Everything else, from DAI to FDUSD to PayPal’s PYUSD, lacks the e money token authorization required for distribution in the EEA.

JUST IN: Tether CEO says several developing economies rely heavily on USDT

Paolo Ardoino noted the stablecoin is used for both domestic and foreign trade in those countries pic.twitter.com/Uqn6YGoKxu

— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) August 24, 2026

Circle obtained its Electronic Money Institution license from France’s Autorite de Controle Prudentiel et de Resolution on July 1, 2024, a full two years before the deadline, giving it time to build the compliance infrastructure that competitors scrambled to replicate. That head start has translated into a meaningful competitive advantage: USDC’s European transaction volume grew 340% in the first six weeks after the MiCA deadline as users migrated from delisted alternatives.

The near monopoly is uncomfortable for regulators who designed MiCA to increase competition in digital payments. A regulation intended to protect consumers and ensure financial stability has, in practice, concentrated the European stablecoin market in the hands of a single US issuer. Circle is incorporated in Delaware, regulated by French authorities, and now serves as the default stablecoin infrastructure for a continent of 450 million people.

EURR’s entry partially addresses this concentration, but with a critical difference: EURR is denominated in euros, not dollars. That makes it complementary to USDC rather than competitive. European users who need dollar denominated stablecoins for trading, remittances, or DeFi still have only one compliant option: Circle.

Revolut’s distribution advantage

The most significant aspect of the EURR rollout is not the token itself but the channel through which it reaches users. Revolut has over 50 million European customers and 16 million crypto users worldwide. By comparison, the largest euro stablecoin by market capitalization (Circle’s EURC) has approximately 240,000 unique holders on chain.

That gap is the distribution advantage. When EURR becomes available across Revolut’s full European user base, it will have a potential reach that dwarfs every existing stablecoin’s European distribution by an order of magnitude. Even a single digit conversion rate among Revolut’s European users would generate millions of stablecoin holders, creating a user base large enough to challenge EURC’s position within months of launch.

The initial rollout in Denmark, Poland, and Portugal covers approximately 2 million Revolut customers. Those three countries were chosen for their market characteristics: Denmark has high digital payment penetration, Poland has one of Europe’s most active crypto trading communities, and Portugal has historically favorable crypto tax policies (though a new capital gains tax took effect in 2025). The selection suggests Revolut is testing EURR with user bases that have high propensity to adopt crypto products.

The planned expansion across the EEA later in 2026 would bring EURR to users in Germany (Revolut’s second largest European market), France, Spain, and Italy. At that scale, EURR would not just be a stablecoin. It would be a feature within an app that tens of millions of Europeans already use for their daily banking.

The neobank stablecoin thesis

Revolut is not the only fintech eyeing stablecoins. Forbes reported in June 2026 that “every neobank will want its own stablecoin,” and the logic is straightforward: stablecoins allow fintechs to extend their product ecosystems into on chain finance without building blockchain infrastructure from scratch.

LATEST: Bridge becomes MiCA-authorized in the European Union

The approval brings the total of authorized electronic money token issuers to 42 pic.twitter.com/G89Lll0gCz

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— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) August 8, 2026

For Revolut specifically, EURR serves three strategic purposes. First, it keeps users inside the Revolut ecosystem for crypto activities that would otherwise require external wallets and exchanges. A Revolut user who wants euro denominated crypto exposure can now get it without leaving the app. Second, it generates data on how Revolut’s customers use on chain products, which informs the company’s broader crypto strategy. Third, it positions Revolut to capture yield from stablecoin reserves, a business model that Tether has proven can generate billions in annual profit.

The multi currency stablecoin plan is the most ambitious element. If Revolut launches stablecoins denominated in British pounds, Swiss francs, Swedish kronor, and other currencies it already supports in its banking app, it would become the first platform to offer a suite of fiat backed stablecoins covering multiple jurisdictions, all integrated into a single consumer application.

That model is fundamentally different from Circle’s (infrastructure focused, selling compliance and APIs to institutions) or Tether’s (yield maximizing, operating outside regulatory perimeters). Revolut’s model is consumer distribution first, with stablecoins as a product feature rather than a standalone business.

The DEX migration and what it costs European users

MiCA’s architects intended the regulation to bring stability and consumer protection to the stablecoin market. For USDT users specifically, it has done the opposite.

Since July 1, European traders who relied on USDT have not stopped using it. They have moved to decentralized exchanges where MiCA enforcement does not reach. On chain data shows that DEX volume from European IP ranges (as estimated by analytics firms tracking swap origins) increased 47% in the six weeks following the deadline, with Uniswap V3 and Curve Finance absorbing the majority of displaced volume.

NEW: GENIUS Act stablecoin rules deadline missed by U.S. regulators

The legislation will still activate in January 2027 despite incomplete finalization pic.twitter.com/t3JdMON7xJ

— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) July 19, 2026

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The migration carries real costs. DEX users bear smart contract risk that centralized exchanges absorb. They pay gas fees on Ethereum (averaging $3 to $8 per swap in August 2026) that centralized exchanges internalize. They lose access to the consumer protections (dispute resolution, account recovery, fiat off ramps) that regulated exchanges provide. And they interact with liquidity pools that can be manipulated through MEV extraction, a problem that does not exist on centralized order books.

The irony is measurable. MiCA was designed to protect consumers from unregulated stablecoin risk. Its practical effect on USDT users has been to push them from regulated venues with consumer protections into unregulated venues without them. The regulation did not reduce USDT usage in Europe. It made USDT usage more dangerous.

Revolut’s EURR addresses this problem for users who are willing to switch from a dollar denominated stablecoin to a euro denominated one. For users who specifically need USDT, whether for dollar denominated trading pairs, cross border remittances to dollar economies, or participation in DeFi protocols that price assets in dollars, EURR is not a substitute. The regulatory squeeze has created a two tier European stablecoin market: compliant euro stablecoins on regulated exchanges, and non compliant dollar stablecoins on unregulated DEXs. Both markets are growing, and neither is solving the problem MiCA was designed to fix.

The competitive landscape beyond Circle and Revolut

The European stablecoin market is attracting entrants beyond the current leaders. As of Q1 2026, approximately 35 regulated e money tokens have been issued by 21 entities under MiCA across France, the Netherlands, Finland, Malta, Luxembourg, and Germany. Most are small (under $50 million in circulation), but the regulatory infrastructure is in place for rapid scaling.

SocieteGenerale’s FORGE platform issued EUR CoinVertible (EURCV), a institutional grade euro stablecoin targeting corporate treasury and trade finance applications. Deutsche Bank has announced plans for a euro stablecoin through its digital asset subsidiary. Banking Circle, a payments bank headquartered in Luxembourg, has launched EURI with direct settlement into the TARGET2 payment system.

None of these competitors have Revolut’s consumer distribution. EURCV is designed for institutional use cases that individual users will never touch. EURI is a payments infrastructure product, not a retail token. The European stablecoin market is developing along two parallel tracks: institutional grade tokens for wholesale finance, and consumer grade tokens for retail adoption. Revolut’s EURR is positioned on the consumer track where distribution matters more than institutional relationships.

The wildcard is Stripe itself. Bridge, the company issuing EURR, is a Stripe subsidiary. Stripe processes payments for millions of internet businesses globally. If Stripe integrates EURR (or future Bridge stablecoins) directly into its merchant payment flows, the distribution channel extends far beyond Revolut’s app into the checkout pages of every Stripe merchant in Europe. That integration has not been announced, but the corporate structure makes it possible, and the potential scale would dwarf anything the stablecoin market has seen.

The GENIUS Act connection

The European stablecoin shakeout is happening simultaneously with stablecoin regulation evolving in the United States. The GENIUS Act, signed into law in 2025, set a one year deadline for federal agencies to write implementing rules for stablecoin issuance. That deadline was missed by four months, with the OCC now targeting November 2026 for a final rule.

The GENIUS Act’s requirements bear a family resemblance to MiCA’s: on demand redemption at par, one to one reserve backing, and regular attestation of reserves. But the GENIUS Act does not include MiCA’s 60% bank deposit requirement, which means Tether could potentially comply with US rules while remaining non compliant in Europe. If Tether obtains a US federal or state license under the GENIUS Act framework, it would create a bifurcated regulatory landscape in which USDT is legal in the United States but illegal in the European Union.

That bifurcation would have consequences for global crypto markets. Exchanges operating in both jurisdictions would need to maintain separate USDT liquidity pools, with European users unable to access the same trading pairs as American users. The fragmentation would increase costs, reduce liquidity, and create arbitrage opportunities that sophisticated traders would exploit at the expense of retail participants.

Revolut’s position in this landscape is unusually strong. With banking licenses in the UK, EU licensing under MiCA, and a growing US presence, the company is one of the few entities that could potentially distribute stablecoins across all three major regulatory jurisdictions. Whether it chooses to do so depends on how quickly it can build out its multi currency stablecoin suite and navigate the licensing requirements in each market.

The regulatory fragmentation also creates an opening for geopolitical competition. If the US finalizes stablecoin rules before Europe fully enforces MiCA’s exchange provisions, American stablecoin issuers will have a regulatory moat that European competitors cannot easily cross. Conversely, if European issuers like Bridge scale faster under MiCA’s clearer framework, the EU could become the first jurisdiction where regulated stablecoins achieve mass consumer adoption. The race is no longer about which stablecoin is biggest. It is about which regulatory framework produces the most usable products for the most people, and Revolut’s 50 million European users are the largest prize on the board.

What to watch

EURR daily transaction volume in the first 30 days will indicate whether Revolut users treat it as a holding asset, a trading pair, or a payments tool. The use case determines the stablecoin’s velocity and, by extension, its economic impact.

Revolut’s EEA expansion timeline beyond the initial three countries. If the full rollout reaches Germany and France by Q4 2026, the distribution advantage becomes structural. If regulatory delays push it to 2027, Circle’s head start consolidates.

Tether’s GENIUS Act compliance filing would signal that Tether is pursuing a US first regulatory strategy, permanently conceding Europe. Absence of a filing by November 2026 would suggest Tether intends to remain entirely outside regulated markets.

EURR supply crossing $500 million would place it among the top 15 stablecoins globally and confirm that consumer fintech distribution can compete with crypto native issuance channels.

Additional Revolut stablecoin denominations (GBP, CHF) launching in 2026 would validate the multi currency thesis and position Revolut as the first global stablecoin supermarket.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions. Published August 27, 2026.

Thirty-nine U.S. state bankers associations have formed BankChain Alliance to develop a bank-owned blockchain network for tokenized deposits, stablecoins, smart payments and automated settlement, with a launch targeted for 2027.

BankChain Alliance said in its Aug. 25 announcement that the proposed network will be designed, governed and owned by the banking industry, while banks across the United States will be invited to become owners as the group works through its technology selection process.

Still in its development stage, BankChain is not operating a payments network yet. The alliance has completed the first phase of its request for proposals and is evaluating technology providers while planning an infrastructure that can connect with other financial networks.

Kathy Kraninger, chair of BankChain Alliance and president and CEO of the Florida Bankers Association, said the project is intended to give banks of different sizes a role in building the infrastructure they would use.

“This is about banks of all sizes building their own future,” Kraninger said, describing the planned system as an industry-led network that would serve institutions across rural, regional and urban markets.

BankChain Alliance brings 3,283 banks under its association network

The 39 state associations involved in BankChain collectively represent 3,283 banks holding $21.8 trillion in assets, based on Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. call-report data as of March 31, according to the alliance.

Participation, however, currently sits at the association level. BankChain states on its website that individual banks represented by the participating associations have not automatically committed to or joined the planned blockchain network unless separately indicated.

Its member associations cover Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Under the proposed structure, banks would be able to use common blockchain infrastructure for services including tokenized deposits, stablecoins, programmable payments and automated settlement. BankChain also plans to make the network interoperable with other systems, although it has not disclosed the underlying blockchain architecture or technical framework.

A tokenized deposit represents commercial bank money on blockchain infrastructure and remains a liability of the issuing bank. The structure differs from stablecoins issued by nonbank companies, which can use separate reserve and redemption arrangements.

BankChain plans to accommodate both tokenized deposits and stablecoins alongside smart payment functions, giving participating institutions several types of blockchain-based payment instruments on the same planned network.

Banks would own the BankChain infrastructure

Ownership forms a central part of BankChain’s proposed structure, although the alliance has not disclosed how much participating banks would be required to invest.

Public materials do not provide figures for committed capital, association contributions, ownership percentages or pricing. American Banker separately reported that BankChain wants to obtain an ownership interest in the technology company ultimately chosen to support the network.

The alliance has already completed the first stage of its request-for-proposals process, Kraninger told the publication.

During that process, regulatory compliance received more weight than any other factor, according to Corey LeBlanc, co-founder and chief technology officer of Locality Bank.

Governance is also being built around participation from state banking organizations. Howard Headlee, president and CEO of the Utah Bankers Association, told American Banker that BankChain is intended to provide member institutions with “equal access to a network they own, where their voice is heard.”

Kraninger chairs a board that also includes executives from state banking groups in Ohio, Nebraska, Texas, North Carolina, Missouri, Utah, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. TekFactor founder Kim Askwith is another member of the board.

Individual banks have yet to be named as owners of the planned network, leaving BankChain to move from association participation toward direct commitments from financial institutions before its targeted 2027 launch.

BankChain joins another bank-led tokenized deposit project

BankChain is entering a U.S. banking sector where major institutions are separately preparing blockchain infrastructure for commercial bank deposits.

Crypto.news previously reported that JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are working through The Clearing House on a shared tokenized deposit network targeted for the first half of 2027.

The Clearing House project is expected to allow corporate customers to transfer tokenized commercial bank money around the clock while connecting blockchain transactions with established banking infrastructure.

Owned by 25 of the largest U.S. financial institutions, The Clearing House already operates payment networks including RTP and CHIPS and says its systems clear and settle more than $2 trillion every day.

Its tokenized deposit project includes support from more than a dozen institutions, including BNY, HSBC, PNC, Santander, TD Bank, Truist and U.S. Bank. Services under consideration include programmable treasury functions, automated payments, liquidity management and cross-border transfers.

No operational launch date beyond the first-half 2027 target has been disclosed, and a technology provider had not been announced when the initiative became public.

BankChain has outlined a different product mix by including stablecoins alongside tokenized deposits, smart payments and automated settlement. Its ownership model is also being organized through state bankers associations and eventual direct participation by banks nationwide.

Wells Fargo, one of the institutions involved with The Clearing House, is also preparing its own tokenized deposit service for corporate and commercial clients.

The bank said in August that an initial rollout planned for this fall would support U.S. dollar-to-British pound transactions for selected customers, with the platform designed to handle transfers and settlements outside conventional banking hours.

Additional clients, currencies and countries are expected to be introduced throughout 2027 as Wells Fargo expands the service.

Banks are moving tokenized payments toward deployment

Blockchain-based bank money is also being tested through infrastructure outside the two U.S. consortium projects.

SWIFT moved its blockchain ledger into initial deployment in July, with 17 global banks preparing to test tokenized deposit payments across the network.

HSBC, Citi, BNP Paribas, UBS, ANZ, DBS and Standard Chartered were among the institutions named in the initial rollout after SWIFT spent nine months developing the system.

The ledger is designed to support international payments during weekends and overnight periods while participating banks retain existing compliance, risk-management and control requirements. Final settlement continues through established banking rails during the initial deployment.

Another structure has been tested by Custodia Bank and Vantage Bank, which have developed a token that can function as a bank deposit within their Hazel network and operate as a stablecoin when transferred outside it.

The banks disclosed the dual-purpose token model in June after testing the Ethereum-based system from March.

Their structure allows participating institutions to retain their customer deposits and control their own wallets while accessing tokenized deposit and payment-stablecoin functions.

Custodia and Vantage have been evaluating the platform with banks ahead of a planned fourth-quarter 2026 rollout, with the system intended for institutions including community banks and credit unions.

BankChain has not named the companies competing to become its technology partner or disclosed when testing with individual banks will begin. Its next steps remain the selection of the network’s technology provider and recruitment of banks as owners before the targeted 2027 launch.

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued to pull in fresh capital on Wednesday, recording $232.1 million in net inflows. While that figure was down from the prior day, it still extended the funds’ streak of consecutive positive sessions to eight trading days, according to SoSoValue data.

The latest inflow total represented about a 26% decline versus Tuesday’s $314.4 million and was the smallest daily inflow since Aug. 18. Even with the slowdown, cumulative flows remain strongly positive, with eight-day net inflows totaling roughly $2.8 billion. Year-to-date, net outflows have narrowed to about $2.03 billion, while cumulative net inflows have risen to $54.6 billion and total net assets reached $98.6 billion, according to SoSoValue.

Key takeaways

• US spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $232.1 million in net inflows on Wednesday, extending an eight-day streak.
• Inflows slowed versus Tuesday’s $314.4 million, but cumulative performance remains firmly positive.
• Bitcoin’s price action has been relatively flat after briefly moving above $80,000, while ETF demand continues.
• US spot Ether ETFs also posted a continued run of inflows, while XRP ETFs saw their largest daily inflow since Jan. 5.

Bitcoin ETF inflow streak continues despite softer daily totals

Wednesday’s $232.1 million inflow follows a day when US spot Bitcoin ETFs received $314.4 million, and it marks a visible cooling from the stronger buying pace seen earlier in the streak. SoSoValue data also indicates Wednesday’s total was the smallest since Aug. 18, underscoring that while investor appetite has not disappeared, the intensity of daily purchases is fluctuating.

That matters for market participants because ETF flow patterns often serve as a real-time barometer of institutional and retail allocation behavior. With the eight-session run now in place and cumulative net inflows reaching $54.6 billion, the broader direction remains constructive—even as day-to-day numbers vary.

Price pauses above $80,000 as sentiment edges higher

ETF inflows came as Bitcoin’s momentum appeared to stall. After briefly climbing above $80,000 on Tuesday, Bitcoin traded around $78,759 at the time of publication, down 0.3% over the preceding 24 hours, based on CoinGecko data.

Despite the less exciting price tape, broader sentiment improved. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index rose to 71 from 65 a day earlier, staying in “Greed” territory, according to Alternative.me. For traders, this divergence—steady ETF inflows alongside a pause in near-term price strength—can be a sign that demand may be driven by longer-horizon positioning rather than purely momentum-chasing.

Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph noted the market’s brief push above $80,000 during Tuesday’s session, providing context for the subsequent consolidation.

Ether and XRP ETFs add to a mixed but supportive picture

Beyond Bitcoin, other major US spot crypto ETF products also saw inflows. US spot Ether ETFs recorded an eighth consecutive day of net inflows on Wednesday, bringing in $192.4 million, according to SoSoValue. The continuation across multiple fund categories suggests that the demand driving ETFs may not be limited to a single asset.

Meanwhile, US-listed spot XRP ETFs attracted $28.1 million on Wednesday. SoSoValue data characterizes this as the largest daily inflow since Jan. 5. XRP’s cumulative net inflows now stand at $1.62 billion, providing another datapoint that flow strength is persisting across the broader ETF landscape rather than being concentrated entirely in Bitcoin.

Taken together, the Wednesday results show a market where institutional-style allocation—reflected in ETF inflows—remains active even as Bitcoin’s price action cools after a near-$80,000 move.

What investors should watch next

With Bitcoin ETFs continuing to post positive days, the key question is whether the next sessions bring a re-acceleration in daily inflows or signal a gradual normalization after the early streak. Readers should also monitor whether sentiment indicators like the Fear & Greed Index remain in “Greed” territory as price volatility returns, and whether Ether and XRP flows keep extending their respective runs.

ETF Store President Nate Geraci predicted on Aug. 27 that BlackRock will eventually expand its spot crypto ETF lineup beyond Bitcoin and Ether, citing the growth of competing altcoin products and BlackRock’s broad fund business.

Geraci said it was “wild” that BlackRock had not launched a spot product for another cryptocurrency or a multi-asset crypto index. He interpreted that absence as an implicit judgment that other digital assets lack sufficient investment value.

That interpretation is Geraci’s opinion. BlackRock has not publicly said other cryptocurrencies lack value, nor has it announced plans to launch or permanently reject additional spot crypto ETFs.

BlackRock’s crypto ETFs manage nearly $70 billion

BlackRock currently offers three U.S. spot crypto products through iShares. Its Bitcoin fund, IBIT, held $60.52 billion in net assets as of Aug. 26, according to official fund data.

The non-staking Ethereum fund, ETHA, held approximately $8.26 billion. BlackRock’s newer staking-enabled Ethereum product, ETHB, managed about $832.7 million and reported a 30-day staking reward rate of 1.73%.

Together, the products held roughly $69.6 billion. Their different structures mean they should not be treated as three distinct cryptocurrency exposures: both ETHA and ETHB hold Ether, while ETHB also seeks staking rewards.

BlackRock also launched BITA, a Bitcoin premium-income fund that holds Bitcoin exposure and sells call options. As crypto.news previously reported, BITA uses IBIT and Bitcoin holdings to support an options-based income strategy. It does not expand BlackRock’s underlying spot exposure beyond Bitcoin.

BlackRock has not filed for an altcoin ETF

A review of public SEC records found no BlackRock registration statement for a spot XRP, Solana or other single-altcoin ETF as of Aug. 27. No BlackRock crypto-index ETF filing was located either.

The absence of a filing does not prove BlackRock has rejected those products internally. Asset managers typically keep potential products confidential until registrations, exchange applications or company announcements become public.

Geraci predicted BlackRock would “capitulate at some point” and launch additional spot crypto ETFs.

That statement is a forecast. Geraci did not cite private discussions with BlackRock, regulatory documents or an undisclosed product plan supporting it.

BlackRock’s public digital-assets page currently focuses on Bitcoin and Ether. The company has also expanded into tokenized money-market funds, showing that its blockchain strategy extends beyond crypto ETFs.

Competitors already offer broader crypto exposure

BlackRock’s position contrasts with rival issuers that have moved into XRP, Solana and multi-asset products. Seven U.S. spot XRP ETFs collectively held approximately $1 billion in assets during August.

As crypto.news reported, spot XRP ETFs accumulated about $1.57 billion in cumulative net inflows by Aug. 24. BlackRock was not among their issuers.

Spot Solana products have also established a U.S. market. In related coverage, Solana ETFs crossed $1 billion in combined assets, led by products from Bitwise and Fidelity.

The SEC has also approved broader structures. The approval of T. Rowe Price’s active crypto ETF allowed potential exposure to Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana and other qualifying assets.

Client demand will determine BlackRock’s next move

BlackRock has not announced a deadline or decision process for expanding its lineup. Any new fund would likely require a registration statement, exchange listing documents and SEC review before trading.

The commercial case would depend on client demand, liquidity, custody support, market surveillance and expected fund size. The existence of rival altcoin ETFs demonstrates regulatory feasibility but does not establish that another product would meet BlackRock’s internal thresholds.

For now, Geraci’s prediction remains unconfirmed. A BlackRock SEC filing, Delaware trust registration or official announcement would provide the first verifiable evidence of a strategy change.

Tokenized deposits could make bank funding less stable and raise credit costs for US households and businesses, according to an analysis by two economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. 

Economists Rosie Levy and Srini Ramaswamy said instant settlement could allow depositors seeking higher yields to switch banks more quickly. They said programmable deposit tokens and agentic artificial intelligence could automate the transfers, shortening the time that deposits remain at individual banks and making them more sensitive to interest rates.

The economists estimated that if deposits became 10% more sensitive to interest rates, banks’ capacity to hold long-term loans and other assets could fall by about $700 billion. In a separate scenario, deposits remaining at banks for 10% less time could reduce that capacity by about $580 billion. Both figures are expressed in 10-year equivalents and do not represent direct reductions in lending. 

The calculations are scenarios rather than forecasts and do not represent dollar-for-dollar reductions in bank lending. They come as US banks build shared blockchain networks designed to move tokenized deposits around the clock while keeping customer funds within the regulated banking system.

Banks develop networks for tokenized deposits

On Tuesday, 39 US state banking associations formed the BankChain Alliance to develop a nationwide network supporting tokenized deposits, stablecoins and automated settlement. The Clearing House is developing a separate network backed by JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citi, BNY and Wells Fargo. 

Banks have also begun connecting tokenized-deposit systems across institutions. On Aug. 20, Standard Chartered and HSBC completed a live cross-border transaction through Swift’s blockchain ledger, which linked the banks’ separate systems and recorded their resulting obligations before settlement through existing payment infrastructure.

Related: US regulator mulls guidance for tokenized deposit insurance, stablecoins

Levy and Ramaswamy said banks could respond to more volatile deposits by holding larger portfolios of highly liquid assets, including reserves and US Treasurys. They said banks could also rely more heavily on term debt to maintain their lending portfolios, although funding loans through wholesale debt would likely increase credit costs for consumers and businesses. 

The authors cited Brazil’s Pix instant-payment system as a potential comparison, while noting that it is not identical to tokenized deposits. A 2025 study found that heavier Pix use increased banks’ holdings of liquid assets and reduced credit intermediation.

Magazine: SEC’s proposed crypto rules probably won’t spark new ICO boom

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US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) drew $232.1 million in net inflows on Wednesday, slowing from the previous day while extending their inflow streak to eight trading days.

The latest inflow was down about 26% from Tuesday’s $314.4 million and marked the smallest daily total since Aug. 18, according to SoSoValue data.

The eight-session streak has attracted about $2.8 billion, cutting year-to-date net outflows to about $2.03 billion. Cumulative net inflows rose to $54.6 billion, while total net assets reached $98.6 billion.

Daily inflows in US spot Bitcoin ETFs since Aug. 17. Source: SoSoValue

The slowdown came as Bitcoin stalled after briefly climbing above $80,000 on Tuesday. Bitcoin traded at about $78,759 at publishing time, down 0.3% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.

Despite Bitcoin’s stalled price action, crypto market sentiment strengthened on Thursday. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index rose to 71 from 65 a day earlier, remaining in “Greed” territory, according to Alternative.me.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index. Source: Alternative.me

Among altcoin funds, US spot Ether ETFs also recorded an eighth consecutive day of inflows on Wednesday, attracting $192.4 million.

US-listed spot XRP ETFs attracted $28.1 million on Wednesday, their biggest daily inflow since Jan. 5, according to SoSoValue. Cumulative net inflows reached $1.62 billion.

Related: Supply absorption ‘key question’ as Bitcoin fails to reclaim $80K: Analysis

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