Zerohash, a blockchain infrastructure provider, has applied for a National Trust Bank Charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), joining a growing list of crypto firms seeking federal licensing.

Stephen Gardner, the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Zerohash, noted that applying for a charter was a logical progression for the company.

Why it matters:

• A national bank trust charter allows an institution to operate as a trust bank nationwide. 
• It enables fiduciary activities, asset custody, and settlement services. However, institutions with this charter cannot take deposits or issue loans, and are not covered by FDIC insurance.
• Growing OCC approvals for crypto firms signal a structural shift toward federally regulated digital asset infrastructure.

The details:

• If approved, the charter would allow Zerohash to further expand its range of services within a federal framework.
• Several digital asset firms have taken similar steps, with some already securing conditional approvals.
• Crypto.com received conditional OCC approval in late February. Ripple, Circle, Paxos, and Fidelity secured similar approvals in 2025.
• In addition, BitGo received full OCC approval in December 2025.
• World Liberty Financial‘s subsidiary filed its application in January 2026 to establish World Liberty Trust Company, National Association.

The big picture:

• Traditional banking groups have pushed back against the OCC’s issuance of trust charters to crypto firms.
• The American Bankers Association raises concerns that broadening the trust charter, especially for entities not involved in traditional fiduciary activities, could blur the lines of what it means to be a bank and open the door to potential regulatory arbitrage.

TLDR:

• Stablecoin volume hit $30T last year, forming the blueprint Armstrong cites for tokenized equity growth.
• Over $200B in tokenized assets now live on-chain, with Ethereum holding more than 60% of that total.
• Tokenized equities could unlock 24/7 trading, fractional shares, and smart contract-based governance rules.
• Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon confirmed tokenized equities are a major area of active strategic focus.

Wall Street attention toward tokenized equities is gaining momentum as major financial and crypto leaders discuss the concept publicly. 

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon recently raised the topic during a discussion with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. 

The conversation focused on how blockchain technology could reshape global access to stock markets. The exchange also highlighted how stablecoins previously followed a similar adoption path.

Tokenized Equities Gain Attention From Goldman Sachs and Coinbase

Solomon asked Armstrong how tokenized equities could evolve within crypto markets. The discussion appeared in a video shared by Etherealize on the social platform X.

Armstrong compared the idea to early skepticism surrounding stablecoins. Many questioned the need for digital dollars when traditional digital payments already existed.

He noted that stablecoins eventually filled a gap for people without access to dollar bank accounts. Residents in high inflation economies often seek dollar exposure.

Countries such as Turkey, Argentina, and Nigeria illustrate that demand. Dollar-pegged crypto assets allow users to transact globally without traditional banking barriers.

Armstrong also referenced data showing strong stablecoin activity. Roughly $30 trillion in stablecoin payment volume occurred during the past year.

He said the same demand drivers could appear in tokenized equities. Crypto infrastructure could reduce friction in global securities trading.

Crypto Markets Push Tokenized Stocks and Global Asset Access

Armstrong outlined a simple model for tokenized equities. A traditional custodian would hold company shares while issuing equivalent tokens on-chain.

That structure could allow global investors to trade stocks without brokerage restrictions. Many people worldwide cannot easily access U.S. equity markets.

The model also introduces continuous trading. Blockchain markets operate around the clock, unlike traditional stock exchanges.

Fractional ownership could expand access further. Investors could buy small portions of companies such as Tesla or Nvidia.

Crypto markets already use perpetual futures and other derivatives. Armstrong said similar instruments could eventually extend to tokenized securities.

Smart contracts also allow programmable governance. Companies could restrict voting rights for short term shareholders through on-chain rules.

The conversation also referenced a broader tokenization trend across financial markets. Institutions now tokenize assets including Treasuries, private credit, and real estate.

Ethereum currently dominates that infrastructure. More than 60 percent of tokenized assets reside on the Ethereum network, according to Etherealize.

Those holdings exceed $200 billion in value. Institutional participants often use Ethereum because of its established compliance infrastructure.

Quant-driven trading firm TDX Strategies is pitching clients a bullish bitcoin trade with an interesting financing twist that helps offset the cost of the bet while reshaping the position’s risk profile.

The Hong Kong–based firm suggested a “bullish risk reversal” strategy on Wednesday, which involves selling a put option (insurance against a downtrend) and using the premium earned to buy bullish call options – essentially funding bullish bets with income from put writing.

This way, the trader effectively pays little or nothing upfront while remaining exposed to a bitcoin rally.

It reflects a broader shift toward more sophisticated, options‑driven positioning, as traders look to stretch their capital further and fine‑tune their risk instead of just piling into spot or straightforward bullish leveraged bets.

A call option is a contract that lets the buyer bet the price of an asset will rise above a specific level, called the strike price, by a certain date. If the price climbs above that strike, the buyer can profit; if it doesn’t, they usually just lose the small fee they paid for the option. It’s analogous to buying a lottery ticket.

A put option does the opposite. It lets the buyer set up protection against a potential drop in the asset below a specific strike price by a certain date. If it does, the put buyer stands to gain; if it doesn’t, the entity stands to lose the initial premium paid. It’s akin to buying insurance.

TDX’s suggested play combines the two in such a way that the trader becomes the seller of out‑of‑the‑money (OTM) puts (insurance) and collects the premium on one leg, then redeploys it to buy an OTM call on the other leg.

The result is a low‑cost bullish structure compared with simply buying a call outright. An out‑of‑the‑money (OTM) call is an option whose strike price is above the current market price of Bitcoin, while an OTM put is one whose strike price is below the current market price.

“The anticipated confirmation of Mojtaba Khamenei as Supreme Leader introduces an added element of risk of immediate retaliatory escalation, however, we view any headline-driven market jitters as a tactical entry point,” TDX said in a market note.

“We are looking to capitalize on temporary weakness to build upside exposure in March and April [expiry], favoring bullish risk reversals (funding OTM calls by selling OTM puts),” TDX added.

The strategy is not without risk. By selling out‑of‑the‑money puts, the trader is obligated to buy Bitcoin at the strike price if the market crashes below that level, which means he ends up acquiring the asset at a price higher than its prevailing market value.

At the same time, while the calls offer upside participation, their high strike prices mean they may expire worthless if the rally falls short of expectations. In effect, the trader trades a lower upfront cost for a more asymmetric payoff: limited upside above the call strike and meaningful downside exposure below the put strike.

The position, therefore, requires close monitoring and may not be suitable for new investors or those with limited capital and a weak grasp of options dynamics.

Bitcoin finally got through the door.

The largest cryptocurrency broke above $72,000 on Thursday, its highest level since before the Feb. 5 crash and the first clean move above the $70,000 ceiling that had rejected it three times in the past month.

It was trading at $72,180 in Asian afternoon hours on Thursday, up 5.9% over the past 24 hours and 5.4% on the week, as a combination of easing war anxiety, strong ETF flows, and a broader equity rebound pulled risk appetite back into the market.

The rally was broad. Ether climbed 7.5% to $2,114, reclaiming $2,000 with conviction for the first time since late February. Dogecoin surged 7.5% to $0.095. Solana added 5.3% to $89.91. XRP rose 4.2% to $1.41 and BNB gained 3% to $650. WhiteBIT Coin jumped 5.6%. The only notable laggard was Tron, up just 1.4%.

The trigger was a shift in global risk sentiment. Asian equities rallied for the first time since the Iran war broke out, with South Korea’s benchmark surging 11% after its biggest drop on record in the previous session.

Wall Street had led the way after economic data eased inflation concerns, though the recovery looked tentative with U.S. and European futures edging lower Thursday morning.

The conflict itself remains unresolved, however. Tehran is still targeting Israel and Gulf states. U.S. and Israeli forces continued striking Iran, including sinking an Iranian warship in international waters. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said operations could last “six, could be eight, could be three” weeks. Trump said “we’re doing very well on the war front” and that the U.S. has “great support.”

But markets have moved past the initial shock and into pricing mode. The Strait of Hormuz situation appears to be stabilizing with U.S. tanker escorts underway. Oil pared its early-week spike.

And the worst-case scenario of an uncontrolled regional escalation looks less likely with each day that passes without a dramatic widening of the conflict.

TLDR:

• Venezuela’s Minerven will ship up to 1,000 kg of gold to US refineries under a new Trump-brokered deal.
• Trafigura is acting as intermediary, shepherding the gold under a separate US government arrangement.
• The contract requires 98% final gold purity, with the total deal value estimated above $150 million.
• The deal marks the third reported resource extraction agreement brokered by the Trump administration in 2025.

The United States has secured a multimillion-dollar gold agreement with Venezuela, marking a shift in Washington’s resource diplomacy. 

Venezuela’s state-owned mining company, Minerven, will ship up to 1,000 kilograms of gold to US refineries. 

Commodity trading giant Trafigura is serving as intermediary in the arrangement. The deal, reported by Axios, carries an estimated value exceeding $150 million.

Trump’s Venezuela Gold Deal: What the $150M Minerven Contract Covers

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum traveled to Venezuela personally to finalize the agreement. 

His involvement signals how seriously Washington is treating resource access as a foreign policy tool. The contract specifies a 98% final gold content standard, according to sources cited by Axios.

Trafigura’s role is to shepherd the physical gold into US refining infrastructure under a separate arrangement with the government. 

The trading firm has existing logistics networks across commodity supply chains. That infrastructure makes it a natural fit for a deal of this scale and sensitivity.

Kobeissi Letter, a renowned financial markets account, flagged the deal on X, noting the US is “eyeing Venezuela’s gold.” The post attracted attention from traders and macro analysts tracking dollar-adjacent commodity flows.

This marks the third resource extraction deal the Trump administration has reportedly structured since January, when Maduro’s grip on Venezuela reportedly weakened.

US Resource Strategy Extends Beyond Venezuela Into Asia and Latin America

The Venezuela gold agreement did not emerge in isolation. 

According to posts by analyst Shanaka Perera on X, the same week saw Japan and India ink a rare earth agreement in Rajasthan. India also opened the Andaman Basin to oil exploration during that same period.

A joint US-Ecuador military operation also took place within the same seven-day window, according to Perera’s account. These moves, taken together, suggest a coordinated effort to lock in resource relationships across multiple regions simultaneously.

Venezuela holds some of the world’s largest oil reserves. For years, Caracas maintained deep financial and strategic ties with Beijing. A shift toward US-aligned commodity flows represents a meaningful change in that dynamic.

Gold markets have taken note. The deal adds to existing upward pressure on gold prices, which have held near record highs in recent sessions. A 1,000-kilogram shipment, while not enormous by global standards, carries symbolic weight given its origin and the political context surrounding it.

TLDR:

• Bitwise donated $233K from BITB profits to Bitcoin nonprofits in its second annual giving cycle.
• BITB now manages $2.7B in assets, directly increasing the size of this year’s developer donation.
• Brink, OpenSats, and HRF’s Bitcoin Fund split the contribution across open-source development grants.
• Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says BITB is the only ETF with an ongoing profit-share pledge to developers.

Bitwise Asset Management has donated $233,000 to three Bitcoin-focused nonprofits. The funds come directly from profits generated by its Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, ticker BITB. 

This marks the second consecutive year the firm has fulfilled a pledge made at the ETF’s January 2024 launch. The commitment ties 10% of gross annual profits to open-source Bitcoin development support.

Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Profits Fund Developer Grants for Second Straight Year

Bitwise directed the donation across three organizations. Brink, OpenSats, and the Human Rights Foundation’s Bitcoin Development Fund each received a portion. 

All three groups focus on funding and training developers who maintain Bitcoin’s core infrastructure. None of them operate for profit.

The pledge originated when BITB first launched in January 2024. Bitwise committed to donating 10% of gross profits annually. The first donation followed that same year. This second contribution signals the firm intends to make the practice routine.

BITB has grown considerably since its debut. The fund now manages approximately $2.7 billion in assets under management. That growth directly increased the size of this year’s donation compared to the first. 

Larger assets mean larger profits, and a larger share flows to developers.

Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan pointed out that BITB stands alone among ETFs in making this type of ongoing commitment. 

No other Bitcoin ETF has structured a recurring donation tied to fund profits. The observation drew attention within the Bitcoin community.

Brink, OpenSats, and HRF Bitcoin Fund Split the $233,000 Contribution

Brink focuses on supporting full-time Bitcoin protocol developers through fellowships and grants. OpenSats funds open-source contributors working on Bitcoin and related projects. 

The Human Rights Foundation’s Bitcoin Development Fund supports developers in regions where financial freedom is restricted.

Each organization allocates funds independently based on its own grant criteria. Bitwise does not direct how recipients distribute the money. The structure keeps the donation at arm’s length from any product or promotional interest.

Bitwise shared the announcement publicly via its official channels. The post credited investors who chose BITB for making the donation possible. It framed the contribution as a reinvestment into the ecosystem supporting the ETF itself.

The broader Bitcoin development community responded positively. The model connects institutional capital with open-source infrastructure in a direct, measurable way. Observers noted it creates a feedback loop: more BITB investment leads to more developer funding.

Bitwise has not disclosed projections for next year’s donation. The amount will depend on BITB’s profit performance through 2025.

Stablecoin firm Tether has led a $50 million strategic investment round in sleep technology startup Eight Sleep, to help the company integrate artificial intelligence agents into its sleep tech products.    

The latest funding round was announced on Tuesday, with Eight Sleep raising $50 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. It follows a $100 million raise last August. The firm specializes in sleep health products, primarily across bedding and supplements.

In an announcement on Tuesday, Tether expressed its strong conviction in health technology to support “longevity, performance, and disease prevention,” and will collaborate with Eight Sleep to bring artificial intelligence-based health technology products to market.

​Tether has been using its capital stockpile to invest in a wide range of areas outside crypto. Its investments span the gold sector, media, biotechnology and AI. The firm has also made multiple attempts to buy professional football clubs.

“Technologies that can turn continuous health data into clear, practical insights will shape the future of consumer health and wellness,” Tether said.

“The investment is designed to empower Eight Sleep and establish a long-term collaboration to build advanced AI-driven health technology using, among others, Tether’s QVAC architecture and leveraging QVAC’s edge intelligence to enhance Eight Sleep products,” it added.

Tether’s QVAC is a privacy-focused health tech service launched in December that enables users to integrate their bio-health data from multiple services or products, like smart rings, into a single platform, supported by local on-device AI to help users with data management and health insights.  

Eight Sleep has stated that it plans to build a sleep-focused AI agent to support its Pod, a sleep tech product that automatically adjusts bed temperature, elevation, and sound based on factors such as heart rate, breathing, snoring, time asleep and sleep stages.

​Related: Stablecoin giving grows as ‘crypto philanthropy’ matures: Report

​The Pod already has AI integrations to track sleep health data; however, Eight Sleep has said the funding will help evolve the company’s current AI tools and capabilities.

“We’ve built the most seamless AI-powered health sensing system in the world, and this partnership with Tether gives us the infrastructure to take that intelligence beyond the Pod, into every aspect of personal health,” noted Franceschetti as part of Tether’s announcement.