Crypto World
Whitehat hacker accuses Injective of ghosting after $500M bug disclosure
A whitehat hacker has gone public over a months-long feud with the team behind Injective over its response to a critical bug disclosure.
According to the report, the vulnerability in question put $500 million at risk via a faulty validation system.
The pseudonymous crypto security researcher, who goes by the moniker al_f4lc0n, has accused Injective of ghosting them for three months, despite fixing the bug, and later lowballing the bounty payout.
Read more: Ethereum address poisoning spike, ‘wallets aren’t ready’ says researcher
The bug
The bounty hunter uploaded a full bug report to a GitHub repository called “injective-wall-of-shame.”
In the repo’s readme, entitled “I Saved Injective’s $500M. They Pay Me $50K,” they explain that the vulnerability allowed “any user to directly drain any account on the chain. No special permissions needed.”
The more detailed technical report describes how a faulty subaccount validation system allowed for an attacker to submit market orders on other users’ behalf.
The bug was exploitable by an attacker creating a worthless token and creating a spot market, pairing it with USDT. Both these actions are permissionless on Injective.
Then, by creating a sell order of the fake token, the attacker could force victim accounts to buy the worthless token for USDT, “at the attacker’s chosen price.” The USDT could then be permissionlessly bridged off Injective, to Ethereum.
The report claims this put all value on the blockchain at risk, and that the total was over $500 million at the time of disclosure.
The figure currently sits at $280 million, the vast majority of which is in the INJ token.
Embed: Oracle error adds to turmoil at DeFi giant Aave
The bounty
Injective is a blockchain network which lists the likes of Binance, Jump, Google and Pantera as partners, claiming “institutional and government players are joining us.”
Bug bounties are a common way for organizations to crowdsource continuous security monitoring from specialist whitehat bounty “hunters.”
Injective’s ImmuneFi page lists a maximum bounty of $500,000 for critical threats related to its blockchain and smart contracts.
The researcher claims, “a mainnet upgrade to fix the bug went to governance vote. The Injective team clearly understood the severity.”
They also allege that injective “ghosted” for three months after the fix, before offering a bounty 10x lower than the maximum. “To be clear: the $50K has not been paid either,” they stress.
Protos has reached out to Injective for comment on al_f4lc0n’s claims, but hadn’t received a response before publication. This article will be updated should we receive one.
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Crypto World
South Korea fines Bithumb $24 million, orders 6-month partial suspension over AML violations
Bithumb, one of South Korea’s leading crypto exchanges, has been fined by the country’s anti–money laundering and counter-terrorism financing agency.
South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has slapped a 36.8 billion won ($24.6 million) fine and ordered a six-month partial suspension after finding millions of violations of the country’s anti-money laundering rules.
The sanctions stem from violations of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, the Financial Services Commission said, according to local media.
According to the FIU, Bithumb committed about 6.65 million violations. Around 3.55 million involved failures to carry out required customer identity verification, while 3.04 million were related to cases where the exchange failed to properly block transactions that should have been blocked.
The suspension targets services for newly registered users. Existing customers will still be able to trade and move funds on the platform, according to initial reports on these sanctions.
Regulators also issued personnel penalties. Bithumb’s chief executive received a reprimand warning, while the exchange’s reporting officer was suspended for six months.
The violations surfaced during on-site inspections of South Korea’s five largest crypto exchanges, Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax, conducted between 2024 and 2025.
The case comes as South Korean regulators tighten oversight of the crypto market. Last year, the FIU handed Dunamu, the operator of the country’s largest exchange, Upbit, a three-month partial suspension and a 35.2 billion won fine for compliance gaps. Korbit, a rival platform, faced a smaller penalty of 2.73 billion won, along with institutional warnings.
Bithumb, founded in 2014, ranks among the largest exchanges in South Korea by trading volume, according to CoinGecko data. The partial suspension comes just a month after Bithumb mistakenly distributed billions of dollars worth of bitcoin to users.
CoinDesk has reached out to Bithumb for comment, but hasn’t heard back at the time of writing.
Crypto World
PayPay (PAYP) Stock Surges 16% Following Nasdaq IPO Launch and Positive Analyst Coverage
Key Takeaways
- PayPay (PAYP) set its IPO price at $16 per ADS on March 11, coming in under the anticipated $17–$20 range, generating approximately $880 million in proceeds
- The stock launched on Nasdaq March 12 with an opening price roughly 19% higher than the offering price, establishing a company valuation near $12.7 billion
- PAYP closed Friday March 13 at $21.14, representing a 16.41% gain and pushing market capitalization toward $14.1 billion
- Macquarie launched coverage with an Outperform recommendation and $22.90 target, highlighting PayPay’s commanding 65% QR code market position and 72 million user base
- ARK Invest reportedly purchased PAYP shares during the initial surge, while CEO Ichiro Nakayama mentioned potential for Tokyo Stock Exchange dual-listing
PayPay Corporation launched a successful Nasdaq debut last week, trading significantly above its initial public offering price and attracting early analyst attention within its first few trading days. The Japanese mobile payment platform, backed by SoftBank, has officially joined the public markets, capturing considerable Wall Street interest.
PayPay Corporation American Depository Shares, PAYP
The company established its IPO pricing at $16 per ADS on March 11 — a figure that fell short of the marketed $17 to $20 range. This cautious pricing strategy reflected broader market uncertainty stemming from international geopolitical developments. The offering generated approximately $880 million through the sale of roughly 55 million ADSs. Lead underwriters included Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Mizuho, and Morgan Stanley.
When trading commenced on March 12, PAYP launched approximately 19% above its offering price. The momentum continued building throughout the session.
By the closing bell on Friday March 13, PAYP settled at $21.14 — representing a $2.98 increase, or 16.41% daily gain. Trading volume exceeded 14 million ADSs during the session. The stock reached an intraday peak of $21.98 while touching a low of $19.81.
This Friday closing price elevated PayPay’s market capitalization to approximately $14.1 billion, rising from the roughly $12.7 billion valuation established at the IPO opening. Extended-hours trading showed modest retreat to around $20.80.
The public offering represents the most significant U.S. IPO from a Japanese enterprise in ten years. It additionally marks SoftBank’s first substantial U.S. public market debut of a majority-controlled portfolio investment since Arm’s 2023 listing.
Macquarie Launches Coverage with Bullish Stance
On March 16, Macquarie began coverage of PAYP with an Outperform designation and established a $22.90 price objective.
The investment firm highlighted PayPay’s commanding presence in Japan’s QR code payment ecosystem — controlling approximately 65% market share and serving roughly 72 million users, equivalent to about three-quarters of Japan’s smartphone-equipped population. QR code transactions account for one in five cashless payments across Japan.
Macquarie observed that PayPay is evolving beyond a simple payment wallet into a comprehensive digital financial services platform encompassing money transfers, savings products, lending solutions, and investment services. The platform currently serves around 16 million card holders, maintains 9.7 million bank accounts, and manages 1.54 million securities accounts.
Japan’s cashless payment adoption reached 42.8% in 2024. Government objectives target 65% penetration by 2030, while QR code payment adoption has expanded at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 75% from 2019 through 2024.
Macquarie projects PayPay’s revenue will achieve ¥456.5 billion in the fiscal year concluding March 2027, reflecting 21.6% year-over-year growth, while operating profit is expected to surge 73.6% to ¥135.1 billion.
Future Outlook for PAYP
CEO Ichiro Nakayama ceremonially opened Nasdaq trading on debut day. Subsequently, he has expressed receptiveness to potentially pursuing a dual listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
ARK Invest was documented as having acquired PAYP shares during the early post-listing momentum — demonstrating institutional appetite for the stock.
PayPay is currently executing the integration of Line Pay operations, with complete merger completion scheduled for late March 2026.
For the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2025, PayPay’s payment division gross merchandise volume surpassed ¥15 trillion.
The US Secret Service, UK National Crime Agency, and Canadian authorities have partnered to disrupt fraudulent schemes related to crypto, raise awareness of scams, and recover stolen funds.
In a Monday notice, law enforcement agencies from the three countries — including Canada’s Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Securities Commission — said that they had launched “Operation Atlantic,” focusing on identifying people at risk of losing or those who had already lost crypto through “approval phishing” schemes.
“Approval phishing and investment scams cost victims millions in financial loss each year,” said Brent Daniels, deputy assistant director for the US Secret Service’s Office of Field Operations. The agencies said they hope to identify and disrupt these scams in near real-time.
According to blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis, approval phishing scams involve “the scammer trick[ing] the user into signing a malicious blockchain transaction that gives the scammer’s address approval to spend specific tokens inside the victim’s wallet, allowing the scammer to then drain the victim’s address of those tokens at will.”
According to the Ontario Securities Commission, Operation Atlantic built upon the commission’s Project Atlas. The operation was launched in 2024 by the Ontario Provincial Police with the US Secret Service and targeted crypto fraud networks.
The initiative will also work with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the City of London Police, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Related: SEC drops case against BitClout founder with prejudice
Are different phishing scams on the rise?
Phishing scams usually involve different methods, seemingly from legitimate sources, that trick users into giving fraudsters access to their crypto wallets. According to crypto intelligence platform Nominis’ monthly report, phishing attacks increased sharply in February, but the amount stolen in crypto-related scams and exploits overall fell to $49 million from $385 million in January.
Chainalysis launched Operation Spincaster in 2024, targeting “approval phishing” scams, which it reported had resulted in $2.7 billion in crypto stolen between May 2021 and July 2024.
Magazine: All 21 million Bitcoin is at risk from quantum computers
Crypto World
Strategy’s STRC Raises $1.18B in One Week, Buying Seven Times Bitcoin’s Weekly Mined Supply
TLDR:
- Strategy purchased 22,337 BTC last week, surpassing seven times the total weekly mined supply of 3,150 coins.
- STRC recorded $2.2B in weekly trading volume, with a single day hitting $740M — rare for any fixed income product.
- The 11.5% STRC dividend is backed by over $2B cash and $55B in Bitcoin, giving investors yield with BTC exposure.
- At its current pace, STRC could raise $16B more in 2025, growing Strategy’s Bitcoin stack by nearly 30% without MSTR dilution.
STRC, Strategy’s preferred stock, has emerged as a powerful Bitcoin accumulation tool in the market. Last week, the instrument raised $1.18 billion for the company in a single week.
Strategy then used those proceeds to purchase 22,337 Bitcoin. That purchase exceeded seven times the weekly mined supply of 3,150 coins.
The scale of this activity is drawing growing attention across both traditional finance and the broader crypto space.
A Fixed Income Product Unlike Any Other
STRC did not exist eight months ago. Yet, it is now generating trading volumes that no other fixed income product can match.
Last week alone, it recorded $2.2 billion in weekly trading volume. On a single day, volume reached $740 million.
Typically, preferred equity products trade quietly in institutional accounts. However, STRC is behaving more like a high-demand growth asset.
Its 11.5% dividend makes it attractive to income-focused investors. At the same time, every dollar flowing into it converts directly into Bitcoin on Strategy’s balance sheet.
The dividend obligation remains fixed and backed by over $2 billion in cash. Strategy also holds over $55 billion worth of Bitcoin as further backing.
This structure gives investors a yield-bearing product with Bitcoin exposure underneath. That combination is rare in traditional financial markets.
As analyst Rob Wallace noted on X, STRC is “becoming the Bitcoin accumulation machine Saylor has always dreamed of.” The product is eliminating thousands of potential future Bitcoin holders by absorbing supply permanently.
Over the last two weeks, STRC raised $1.557 billion in total. That pace, even conservatively projected, could generate another $16 billion before the end of the year.
Strategy’s Supply Absorption and What It Means for Bitcoin
Strategy is currently purchasing Bitcoin at 2.66 times the global daily mining rate. This means the company is absorbing supply far faster than the network can produce new coins.
As that gap widens, available Bitcoin on the open market continues to shrink. The effect on long-term price dynamics is straightforward to trace.
If STRC raises $16 billion more this year as projected, Strategy’s Bitcoin stack would grow by nearly 30%. Notably, this growth would not dilute common MSTR shareholders.
That structure separates STRC from typical equity raises. It also makes the model more sustainable than critics suggest.
Some market observers have called Strategy’s model a Ponzi scheme. However, similar criticism followed Bitcoin at $1, $100, and again at $10,000.
The company’s approach depends on continued belief in Bitcoin’s long-term appreciation. The historical track record of Bitcoin’s price has so far supported that thesis.
The full scale of this machine has not yet been tested in a bull market. That moment, should it arrive, could reshape the pace of institutional Bitcoin accumulation further.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ended its civil enforcement action against BitClout founder Nader Al-Naji and several related defendants, saying the decision was “based on the particular facts and circumstances of this case.”
In a joint stipulation filed March 12, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the SEC and Al-Naji agreed to close the case, ending the litigation permanently and preventing the agency from refiling the same claims.
The SEC filed the lawsuit in July 2024, accusing Al-Naji of violating securities laws through the crypto-based social network project BitClout, later associated with the decentralized social blockchain DeSo. The SEC and Department of Justice charged Al-Naji with wire fraud and the sale of unregistered securities.
The charges claimed Al-Naji raised approximately $257 million from the sale of BitClout’s native token, BTCLT. They alleged he led investors to believe the money would be used to pay him and other BitClout employees, but instead spent “more than $7 million of investor funds on personal expenditures,” renting a mansion in Beverly Hills and “extravagant cash gifts.”
The case also named several “relief defendants,” including Buse Desticioğlu Al-Naji, Joumana Bahouth Al-Naji, Intangible Holdings LLC, Firestorm Media LLC, Viridian City LLC and the DeSo Foundation.
BitClout, which debuted in early 2021, was promoted as a proof-of-work blockchain designed to run and monetize social media, but quickly drew controversy. The platform automatically created profiles for prominent figures by scraping their accounts on X, then still known as Twitter, without consent, prompting a cease-and-desist letter from law firm Anderson Kill alleging violations of California’s right-of-publicity law, CoinDesk reported at the time.
Critics also argued the project’s “creator coin” model could incentivize reputational attacks, because users could profit from shorting someone’s token while damaging their reputation. Others raised concerns that users had to convert bitcoin into BitClout’s BTCLT token to use the platform without an easy way to convert it back, effectively locking funds on the site.
Despite the backlash, Al-Naji said the project attracted backing from major venture firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Coinbase Ventures and Digital Currency Group.
Al-Naji and the relief defendants waived any claims for attorney’s fees or damages related to the investigation or litigation.
TLDR
- Olema Pharmaceuticals (OLMA) shares surged 8.5% Monday following a Q4 earnings beat, posting a loss of $0.50 per share versus the anticipated $0.51.
- The biotech firm recorded a GAAP net loss of $46.1 million in Q4 2025 and $162.5 million across the full fiscal year.
- Stifel maintained its Buy rating with a $48 price target post-earnings, highlighting the company’s cash reserves lasting through mid-2028.
- Roche’s recent persevERA trial failure has sparked concerns regarding Olema’s OPERA-02 trial prospects.
- Wall Street consensus leans “Moderate Buy” with a mean price target of $41, while shares are down 41% YTD despite a 234% surge over the trailing year.
Olema Pharmaceuticals (OLMA) shares rallied 8.5% during Monday’s trading session following the release of fourth-quarter results that narrowly topped analyst projections. The stock peaked at $16.07 intraday before closing near $15.96, marking a solid gain from the previous close of $14.71.
Olema Pharmaceuticals, Inc., OLMA
The biopharmaceutical company disclosed a quarterly loss of $0.50 per share for Q4 2025, surpassing the Street’s expectation of a ($0.51) loss by one cent. While modest, the earnings surprise proved sufficient to drive investor enthusiasm.
For fiscal year 2025, Olema recorded a GAAP net loss totaling $162.5 million. The fourth quarter alone contributed $46.1 million to that deficit. Management opted not to host an earnings conference call following the release.
The stock’s performance has been nothing short of volatile. While OLMA has delivered a remarkable 234% return over the past twelve months, shares had tumbled 41% year-to-date prior to Monday’s rally.
Trading activity registered at 518,220 shares — significantly below the stock’s typical daily volume of approximately 1.6 million. The subdued volume suggests investors may be proceeding cautiously rather than piling in aggressively.
Analyst Reaction
Stifel responded swiftly to the earnings release, reaffirming its Buy rating and $48 price objective. The firm emphasized Olema’s financial runway stretching into mid-2028 as a significant advantage, providing adequate resources to reach several critical milestones ahead of palazestrant’s anticipated commercial debut.
Palazestrant is currently in development for second- and third-line metastatic breast cancer treatment, with market entry projected for 2027.
The broader analyst community maintains an optimistic outlook. Ten analysts have assigned Buy ratings to the stock, with one Hold and one Sell rating. The consensus price target stands at $41.00 — representing substantial upside from current trading levels.
Oppenheimer reaffirmed its Outperform rating on March 9th. JPMorgan lifted its price target from $29 to $32 last November, maintaining an Overweight stance. TD Cowen also holds a Buy rating, highlighting palazestrant’s superior exposure compared to rival therapies.
H.C. Wainwright reduced its target to $38 but retained its Buy rating in response to recent clinical trial developments.
The Roche Factor
Earlier this month, Roche announced that its persevERA clinical trial — assessing giredestrant combined with palbociclib in first-line metastatic breast cancer patients — failed to achieve statistical significance on its primary progression-free survival endpoint. While a favorable numerical trend was observed, the miss carries significant implications.
The persevERA outcome is considered a potential indicator for Olema’s own Phase 3 OPERA-02 trial, which is evaluating palazestrant. Topline results from OPERA-02 aren’t anticipated until 2028 at the earliest.
Stifel noted that Roche’s complete persevERA dataset will likely be unveiled at ASCO 2026, which could represent the next significant catalyst — or obstacle — for OLMA shares.
Regarding financial health, Olema maintains a stronger cash position than debt, boasting a current ratio of 8.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average currently sits at $24.18, considerably above Monday’s trading range.
Institutional ownership accounts for 91.78% of outstanding shares. Meanwhile, company insiders have been net sellers — divesting approximately 805,501 shares valued at roughly $23 million during the past three months.
The company currently commands a market capitalization of approximately $1.09 billion.
Digital asset wealth management platform Abra is going public through a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company New Providence Acquisition Corp. III, marking the latest attempt by a crypto company to access public markets as investor interest in the sector rebounds.
On Monday, Abra announced that it had signed a definitive agreement with the blank-check company, or SPAC, valuing the crypto wealth manager at a pre-money equity valuation of $750 million.
Existing investors, including Pantera Capital, Blockchain Capital, RRE Ventures, Adams Street and SBI, will roll over their shares into the combined entity rather than cashing out.
Following the transaction, the new entity is expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ABRX.
The public company will focus on crypto wealth management, offering custody and segregated accounts, yield strategies, crypto-backed loans, treasury management and trading services.
Founded in 2014 by CEO Bill Barhydt, Abra operates a digital asset platform serving high-net-worth investors, institutions and family offices. Its investment management arm, Abra Capital Management LP, is registered as an investment adviser with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing it to provide portfolio management services to clients.
Abra has been restructuring its US operations following regulatory scrutiny. In 2024, the company reached a settlement with regulators in 25 US states over its Abra Earn crypto lending product, agreeing to return assets to investors and wind down the program for US clients. The settlement came as the company shifted its focus toward institutional and wealth management services.
Related: VC Roundup: Big money, few deals as crypto venture funding dries up
Crypto companies increasingly eye public markets
Abra is one of several digital asset companies seeking public listings as the industry looks to attract traditional capital.
In the past year, SPACs have drawn renewed interest as a route for crypto-related companies to enter the public markets, Jessica Groza, partner with Kohrman Jackson & Krantz, said. “While this model offers rapid liquidity, valuation flexibility, and access to institutional capital, it also carries substantial risks: volatility, structural dilution, opaque disclosures, technical complexity and regulatory uncertainty.”
Traditional initial public offerings (IPO) have been the preferred route for several big name crypto players over the past year, including stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2025, and crypto exchange Gemini, which debuted on Nasdaq later that year.
Blockchain-focused financial services company Figure Technologies and institutional trading platform Bullish also went public via IPO during the same period.
Other companies are reportedly exploring public offerings as well, including hardware wallet maker Ledger and institutional crypto custodian Copper.
Related: Crypto Biz: Circle stock defies Wall Street and digital asset selloff
Crypto World
Metaplanet Raises $531M Through Share Placement and Warrants to Accelerate Bitcoin Accumulation
TLDR:
- Metaplanet raised ~$255M instantly through a share placement priced at a 2% market premium.
- Fixed-strike warrants at a 10% premium could release an additional $276M if fully exercised.
- The warrant structure monetizes equity volatility instead of forcing large-scale shareholder dilution.
- All capital raised from the $531M structure is earmarked exclusively for Bitcoin accumulation.
Metaplanet, Japan’s publicly listed Bitcoin treasury company, has secured up to $531 million in new capital. The fundraise combines a direct share placement and a series of fixed-strike warrants.
New shares were sold to institutional investors at a 2% premium to market, raising approximately $255 million. The warrants, set at a 10% premium, add potential access to another $276 million upon exercise.
Together, the instruments position the company for a major push toward its 210,000 BTC target.
A Two-Part Capital Raise Designed Around Bitcoin
The share placement portion of the raise closed with global institutional investors at a 2% premium over market price.
Metaplanet brought in roughly $255 million through this transaction, representing the confirmed and immediate capital from the raise.
The involvement of international institutions in the placement reflects broader interest in Metaplanet’s Bitcoin strategy. This part of the deal stands on its own and delivers capital to the company’s treasury regardless of the warrants.
The second component consists of fixed-strike warrants issued to investors at a 10% premium above market. These warrants can generate an additional $276 million for Metaplanet if holders choose to exercise their rights.
Exercise is most likely when the company’s share price stays at or above the warrant’s strike price over time. Until then, Metaplanet holds the premium income collected from selling the warrants to investors.
CEO Simon Gerovich shared the details on social media, confirming the total potential capital at $531 million. He described the warrants as tools designed to monetize the company’s equity volatility. Every dollar from the full raise, if realized, is earmarked for Bitcoin accumulation.
Warrant Structure Captures Equity Volatility to Fund Bitcoin Purchases
The warrant mechanism is a key distinction between this raise and a plain secondary share offering. In a standard share sale, a company issues new equity and immediately dilutes existing shareholders in the process.
Metaplanet’s approach uses the market’s appetite for its stock as a funding source without forcing dilution at scale. This design gives the structure an edge in managing shareholder perception while raising capital.
Investors who buy the warrants are paying for the option to acquire shares at a locked-in price in the future. Metaplanet receives that payment upfront and channels it alongside the share placement proceeds.
Both pools of capital flow into Bitcoin purchases. Bitcoin was priced near $73,394 per coin at the time Gerovich made the announcement.
Metaplanet has become Japan’s most prominent corporate Bitcoin holder and is frequently compared to MicroStrategy.
The company has been building its Bitcoin reserve relentlessly, guided by a long-term target of 210,000 BTC. This raise brings it measurably closer to that goal.
The next thing to track is full warrant exercise, which would deliver the entire $531 million into Bitcoin. If the stock holds, all the capital flows directly into Bitcoin purchases.
Shares of stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) have surged more than 100% over the past month, turning what many investors once viewed as one of the most conservative corners of crypto into one of the market’s hottest trades.
The rally gained momentum Monday, with the stock climbing another 8% to $124.37, outpacing other crypto-linked equities. Meanwhile, Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR) and crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) are up 23% and 8.5% in a month, respectively.
The move also coincided with recent bullish analyst calls. Clear Street upgraded Circle to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $136 from $92, while Mizuho also raised its price to $120 from $100, pointing to improving fundamentals around the company’s USDC stablecoin.
Even Circle’s biggest bear, Compass Point’s Ed Engel, upgraded the company’s rating to Neutral from Sell in January. Currently, Seaport Global’s analyst is the most bullish on the stock, with a $280 price target, according to FactSet data.
Hottest crypto trade
The surge reflects a growing view among investors that Circle sits at the center of several powerful trends shaping the digital asset industry, from tokenized financial products to AI-driven payments.
Macro conditions may also be playing a role. Escalating tensions in Iran and rising oil prices have fueled concerns that inflation could remain sticky, potentially delaying Federal Reserve rate cuts. That scenario could benefit Circle because the company earns a large share of its revenue from interest on reserves backing USDC, its dollar-pegged stablecoin. Higher interest rates typically translate into stronger earnings for stablecoin issuers.
Circle’s core product is USDC, a digital token designed to maintain a value of $1. The stablecoin runs on public blockchains and allows users to move dollars globally, settle trades and post collateral without relying on traditional banking rails.
Unlike many crypto assets, demand for stablecoins often grows even when markets decline. Since October 2025, the total crypto market capitalization has fallen roughly 44%, while USDC’s market cap has remained relatively stable, according to Clear Street. The difference reflects USDC’s role as a payment infrastructure rather than a speculative asset.
Another driver is the rapid expansion of tokenized financial assets, which bring instruments like U.S. Treasuries and credit funds onto blockchain networks. Many of these products use USDC to process subscriptions, redemptions and payments. BlackRock’s tokenized Treasury fund BUIDL, for example, has grown to more than $2 billion in assets since launching in 2024.
Clear Street estimates the market for tokenized assets has expanded from about $1.5 billion in early 2023 to roughly $26.5 billion today, a trend closely tied to rising demand for stablecoins.
“The scale of this opportunity is significant,” Clear Street’s Lau said.
Other emerging use cases could add further momentum. Prediction markets such as Polymarket processed more than $22 billion in trading volume in 2025, largely using USDC as the settlement currency.
Analysts also point to AI-driven commerce as a longer-term catalyst. Autonomous software agents increasingly require programmable payment tools to purchase data, services or computing power. Early data suggests stablecoins already dominate these transactions, with roughly 98% of AI-agent payments settled in USDC.
Regulation could provide another boost. Analysts say the chances of U.S. crypto legislation advancing have improved after President Donald Trump voiced support for the proposed CLARITY Act, which would clarify oversight of digital assets and could encourage greater institutional participation.
For now, the result is a rare market moment: a company built around one of crypto’s most stable assets has become one of its fastest-rising stocks.
“We believe the Street has under-estimated the impact of tokenization, prediction markets, war and AI on USDC,” Lau noted.
Read more: Circle overtakes BlackRock in tokenized Treasuries as market hits record $11 billion
BlackRock’s ETHB staking ETF routes 70–95% of its Ethereum into validators run by Figment and others.
Summary
- ETHB is BlackRock’s first Ethereum ETF that adds staking rewards on top of spot exposure, with roughly 70–95% of ETH staked at any given time.
- Figment runs part of the validator infrastructure for ETHB alongside Galaxy Digital and Attestant, handling block proposals, attestations, and network security duties for the fund’s staked ETH.
- The ETF launched with about $100–107m in assets, did roughly $15.5m in first-day volume, and passes around 82% of gross staking rewards to shareholders, with a 0.25% fee cut to 0.12% on the first $2.5b for a year.
BlackRock’s new iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) is pulling institutional staking into the ETF wrapper — and delegating a crucial piece of that infrastructure to Figment. The fund, listed on Nasdaq under the ticker ETHB, is BlackRock’s first crypto product that offers staking rewards on top of spot exposure, staking between roughly 70% and 95% of its ether holdings through professional validator operators. Figment has been named one of the key node operators for ETHB, responsible for running Ethereum validation infrastructure, processing transactions, and helping secure the network on behalf of the trust.
ETHB quietly marks a structural shift in how traditional finance can access Ethereum’s (ETH) proof‑of‑stake economy. At launch, the ETF came to market with around $100–107 million in initial assets and generated about $15.5 million in trading volume on its first day, according to multiple data providers. Under normal conditions, the fund stakes most of that ether, returning roughly 82% of gross staking rewards to shareholders, with the current implied annualized yield around 3.1%, while BlackRock and its partners retain the remainder as fees. Management fees are set at 0.25%, temporarily reduced to 0.12% on the first $2.5 billion in assets for the first year, a pricing structure designed to pull flows away from un‑staked spot products.
Figment’s role is central to that pitch. As one of Ethereum’s largest institutional staking providers, the company operates validators that handle block proposals and attestations for ETHB’s staked share of ether, alongside other providers such as Galaxy Digital and Attestant. By outsourcing validation to specialist firms instead of building its own infrastructure, BlackRock can offer regulated clients exposure to staking yields while keeping operational risk and technical complexity at arm’s length. That model also gives Ethereum another anchor tenant in its validator set, deepening the pool of professionally run nodes that secure the network.
For Ethereum itself, the timing is favorable. ETH is trading around $2,201, up roughly 6.8% in the last 24 hours, with a 24‑hour low near $2,041.70 and high just above $2,200, on nearly $27.76 billion in volume. Staked ether has already hit record highs on‑chain, and the arrival of a yield‑bearing BlackRock ETF that locks up a large portion of its holdings reinforces that supply sink while giving institutions a familiar wrapper for participating in Ethereum’s security budget. For live data, readers can follow crypto.news’ dedicated Ethereum price page, and for more on ETF‑driven flows and Ethereum’s evolving role, see our recent coverage of Bitcoin ETF inflows after Iran tensions, analysis of macro shocks and BTC price volatility, and Michael Saylor’s continued treasury‑driven Bitcoin accumulation.
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