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AI agents fueled a frenzy of startup building at the Consensus Miami EasyA hackathon

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AI agents fueled a frenzy of startup building at the Consensus Miami EasyA hackathon

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — At the EasyA Hackathon tucked inside Consensus Miami 2026, the energy felt less like a traditional crypto developer event and more like a live audition for the next generation of the intersection of blockchain and AI-native startups.

Nearly 1,000 developers competed at the venue, some from established crypto ecosystems like Base and Solana, and others arriving from companies like Microsoft and Google, all racing to build products around one theme that kept surfacing in conversation after conversation: AI agents.

The focus on AI agents had already emerged earlier this year at the EasyA x Consensus Hong Kong hackathon, where organizers described 2026 as the “Year of the Application Layer” as developers increasingly shifted from infrastructure tools toward AI-powered consumer applications and autonomous agents.

For brothers Dom and Philip Kwok, co-founders of EasyA, that evolution is exactly the point. What began as a small hackathon series in Austin, Texas, during Consensus 2023 has quickly transformed into one of crypto’s most closely watched builder gatherings, attracting young passionate developers with increasingly teams with serious technical pedigrees.

Their ambition for the event is bluntly simple. “We want billion-dollar companies coming out of EasyA,” Dom Kwok said during an interview with CoinDesk at the hackathon floor. “We’ve already had, out of our other hackathons, a $10 billion company.”

That success story has become part of EasyA lore. One Harvard team that pitched at a previous EasyA event went on to found “Cognition AI,” which the Kwoks say is now valued at roughly $10 billion. Another former participant, Axal, is building stablecoin yield products backed by bitcoin.

Other alumni have reportedly gone through Y Combinator, raised from top venture firms and processed hundreds of millions in transactions. The message to developers walking through the Miami event was clear: this is no longer just a couple-days coding competition, it’s increasingly being framed as a launchpad for venture-scale companies.

This year, however, the center of gravity has unmistakably shifted toward agentic AI. Coinbase sponsored challenges around x402, an emerging framework developers are experimenting with for AI-agent payments and interactions, while Solana and Solana Mobile pushed teams toward mobile-first applications and consumer experiences.

“Lots of developers [are] really excited about AI agentic workloads,” Dom said, pointing to the recent wave of massive venture funding flowing into AI-agent infrastructure startups.

Some of the projects already circulating around the venue reflected how far builders are stretching the category. One team called Praxis was working on blockchain-connected drones controllable through smartphones, what the brothers described as “the next Palantir on the blockchain.” Another startup was building what they called “hyper-intelligent AI,” software designed to turn text prompts into physical 3D objects. “You could put in a prompt and say, ‘Build me a microscope,’ and it will actually build it for you,” Phil said. “It’s like the next phase of taking ChatGPT from something informational into something embodied.”

The winners:

The judges rewarded projects that pushed AI agents beyond chatbots and into real-world coordination, automation and commerce, whether through hardware, payments infrastructure or consumer-facing apps. Across the different sponsor tracks, the winning teams reflected the broader shift underway at this year’s hackathon: developers were no longer just building crypto tools, they were building products meant for everyday use. Prizes differed per track, and are still pending on how they will be divied up in each category.

Kickstart Track ($50,000):

First place: FlyPraxis

Taking the top spot in the Kickstart track was FlyPraxis, a real-time drone intelligence platform designed for military operators. The team pitched the project as “Palantir, but in real time,” using AI-powered coordination and live battlefield intelligence to manage autonomous drone systems.

Second place: HIIE

HIIE placed second with a platform that turns text prompts into fully buildable hardware products. Using AI agents to manage everything from physics calculations and component sourcing to 3D CAD generation and assembly documentation, the startup aimed to compress months of hardware prototyping into a single workflow.

Third place: Clan World

Clan World rounded out the top three in the Kickstart track, joining a broader wave of teams experimenting with AI-native coordination and community-driven applications.

Solana Mobile Track ($30,000 + $75,000 worth of Solana phones)

First place: Parabola

In the Solana Mobile track, first place went to Parabola, a decentralized prediction and estimation market built on Solana. The platform allows users to speculate on real-world events through a distribution-based AMM model designed for mobile-native trading experiences.

Second place: Snakr

Snakr took second place with an AI-powered food intelligence app that lets shoppers scan products to identify potential health risks, FDA recalls and ingredient concerns. Users can also contribute missing product information and earn Solana-based rewards in return.

Third place: Rhythym

Third place winner Rhythym focused on productivity and accessibility, building a mobile routine-support app aimed at helping users with executive dysfunction complete daily tasks. The app integrates with Solana’s Seeker phone, Nova 2 Lite and x402 infrastructure to create AI-assisted workflows.

Coinbase / AWS Track ($45,000)

First place: Dairy Price API x402

The Coinbase and AWS track centered heavily on AI-agent payments and autonomous commerce. The winning project, Dairy Price API x402, built a pay-per-call commodity pricing and forecasting service that allows AI agents to access dairy market data without traditional API keys. Payments are settled directly in USDC through x402 on Base.

Second place: AgentPay

AgentPay placed second with a payment coordination system that gives users one-tap approval over AI-agent transactions while using AWS-powered risk validation to ensure agents spend funds responsibly.

Third place: Giggy

Giggy took third place for building a marketplace where users can hire AI agents to perform research tasks. Payments are locked in crypto escrow on Base, while the agents themselves can pay for premium APIs through x402-powered transactions.

Runner up: Chainlens

Chainlens focused on trust and verification for autonomous systems, building an x402-compatible layer that connects AI agents to verified APIs and only releases payment once responses are authenticated.

Read more: AI-powered agents dominate the EasyA x Consensus Hong Kong hackathon

Strategy’s MSTR May Rally 80% Despite Suffering $12.54B in Q1 Losses

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Strategy’s MSTR May Rally 80% Despite Suffering $12.54B in Q1 Losses

Strategy’s MSTR stock may rally by over 80% in the coming months despite suffering a $12.54 billion net loss in Q1 2026.

Key takeaways:

  • Strategy’s MSTR is forming an ascending triangle pattern, pointing to a potential move toward the $350 level.
  • Canaccord raised its MSTR price target to $224 from $185, citing Bitcoin’s rebound and Strategy’s financing structure.

MSTR’s textbook bullish reversal setup targets $350

As of Friday, MSTR was trading inside what appeared to be an ascending triangle, a technical pattern formed when the price prints higher lows beneath a flat resistance zone.

Those higher lows are a sign that buyers are getting more confident. Each time MSTR pulls back, it stops falling sooner than before, showing that buyers are stepping in earlier without waiting for a deeper drop.

MSTR weekly chart. Source: TradingView

Ascending triangles typically resolve when the price breaks above the upper trend line and rises by as much as the structure’s maximum height.

Applying this technical rule to MSTR’s chart brings its upside target to around $350 in 2026. The upside target, up about 80% from the current price level, aligns with the 0.236 Fibonacci retracement line.

Analyst Kevin Fx said that MSTR may rally to the $250–$300 range, citing an inverse-head-and-shoulders (IH&S) pattern.

MSTR weekly chart. Source: TradingView/Kevin Fx

Conversely, a pullback from the ascending triangle’s upper trendline may push MSTR into a multi-week downtrend toward its lower trend line at around $150. A breakdown below $150 risks invalidating the bullish setups altogether.

Canaccord raises its MSTR price target to $224

Earlier this week, Canaccord, a Canada-based investment banking giant, also raised its MSTR price target to $224 from $185, reiterating its Buy rating.

The investment bank pointed to MSTR’s 80% rebound since February, saying the company had weathered another storm as Bitcoin recovered above $80,000 from near $60,000 lows over the same period.

Source: X

Canaccord also highlighted Strategy’s preferred-share financing model, such as STRC, as an important part of that resilience. The product allows the company to raise fresh capital for Bitcoin purchases without relying as heavily on new common-stock issuance.

Issuing more common MSTR shares can dilute existing shareholders. On the other hand, preferred stock gives Strategy another way to fund its Bitcoin accumulation strategy with less pressure on its core equity.

Related: Samson Mow defends Strategy selling portions of its Bitcoin treasury

Meanwhile, Strategy has increased its Bitcoin exposure for each shareholder. Despite posting a $12.54 billion Q1 loss, it bought 89,599 BTC in the first three months of 2026, bringing its total holdings to 818,334 BTC at an average cost of $75,537.

Source: X

Its BTC-per-share metric also rose 18% year-over-year, showing the company is adding value to each MSTR share in addition to growing its BTC balance sheet.

US Senator Questions Mark Zuckerberg on Meta’s Stablecoin Plans

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US Senator Questions Mark Zuckerberg on Meta’s Stablecoin Plans

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to answer questions about the company’s stablecoin integration in 2026, signaling concerns about guardrails.

In a Wednesday letter to Zuckerberg, Warren said Meta’s lack of transparency regarding its stablecoin was “deeply troubling,” given the company’s previous plans to roll out Libra, a global stablecoin proposed in 2019 that was later rebranded to Diem.

The senator said Meta’s plans were necessary for Congress to understand, given the US government’s efforts to pass a digital asset market structure bill with implications for stablecoin issuers.

“It is critical that Meta be transparent with Congress and the public regarding its stablecoin-related plans,” said Warren. “Beyond the failure of its previous attempt to issue its own global private currency, the company has struggled to safely offer its existing products and services […] Any new products, especially related to payments and financial services, should be treated with skepticism.”

Source: US Senate Banking Committee

The senator asked the Meta CEO to provide details by May 20 on its “small and focused trial” for a stablecoin integration to the platform, including any planned launch date, third-party stablecoins that may be a part of the program and privacy guardrails it may have in place. Meta already rolled out stablecoin payouts in USDC (USDC) for select creators in the Philippines and Colombia in April.

Related: Mark Zuckerberg is building an AI agent to help run Meta

Warren sits on the Senate Banking Committee as ranking member, where she helps oversee financial agencies like the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The body is currently considering legislation to establish a comprehensive framework for digital assets in the US called the CLARITY Act, which has been stalled in the chamber for months.

Stablecoin yield compromise to advance market structure bill?

Last week, lawmakers in the Senate announced a deal between crypto and banking industry representatives that could allow the CLARITY Act to advance to a markup in the banking committee, and potentially a floor vote in the full chamber.

Although the compromise on stablecoin yield represented progress in advancing the legislation, some crypto advocates urged caution as lawmakers continue to debate other issues in the bill, including ethics and potential conflicts of interest.

Magazine: XRP ‘probably going to $12,’ Bitcoin ETFs add $1B: Market Moves

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XRP Network Sees Steep Pullback In New User Activity From Its 2024 High

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XRP Network Sees Steep Pullback In New User Activity From Its 2024 High

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XRP’s waning price performance seems to have finally influenced the network’s activity, which has seen a notable cooldown in the month of May. Just a few days into May, the network is struggling to attract new wallet addresses. After over a year, new addresses have fallen to one of their lowest levels.

New XRP Addresses Drop Dramatically

The XRP network’s activity and its price are starting to move toward the same negative direction. While the recent momentum in price is slowly fading away, user growth across the network appears to have sharply cooled down.

The slowdown is a result of a significant drop in the number of new wallet addresses created on the network. According to the chart from Glassnode, a popular research and on-chain data analytics platform, the metric has fallen from its peak in late 2024. Currently, the tide of new user onboarding and involvement that formerly drove network growth has slowed in recent months.

Glassnode announced that new wallet addresses on the XRP network have collapsed from 18,000 XRP in a single day in December to about 2,700 XRP per day as of yesterday. This drop from the 2024 high to today’s levels represents a more than 85% decrease after over a year.

In the ever-evolving crypto market, new addresses are often linked to retail investors. Therefore, the declining new addresses’ activity points to a sign of weakening retail involvement, particularly during times of increased speculation and market excitement.

XRP
Source: Chart from Glassnode on X

Amid this fading, new wallet addresses created on the XRP network, its monthly active supply is telling a different story. As reported by Glassnode, the monthly active supply is exhibiting bearish activity, dropping from 7.4 billion XRP per day to around 2 billion per day over the same period.

Looking at the setup, the platform has highlighted that the speculative wave that pushed that altcoin’s surge in late 2024 has largely unwound at the network level. In the meantime, this development could either mark a temporary pause or a large change in the adoption trends of the altcoin.

A Continued Decline In Waning Downside Pressure

Market sentiment has heavily shifted, causing a wave of pullback across major crypto assets. XRP was impacted by this drawdown, which has now fallen further despite the absence of significant downside pressure. Such a trend is developing a disconnect in the market where buyers are stepping back, rather than sellers forcefully taking control.

During the period, CW, a verified author at the CryptoQuant platform, has revealed that a trader is net buying a massive volume of futures positions at the current price level. While strong upside pressure is starting to emerge, the price is not rising significantly. This may be linked to the persistent purchase of long positions by a trader, which is currently blocking the rise.

XRP
XRP trading at $1.38 on the 1D chart | Source: XRPUSDT on Tradingview.com

Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com

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Arbitrum approves $71 Million ETH release despite U.S. seizure fight

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Arbitrum approves $71 Million ETH release despite U.S. seizure fight

Arbitrum delegates approved the release of $71 million in ether frozen after last month’s Lazarus-linked rsETH exploit, setting up a direct clash between decentralized governance and an active U.S. court fight over who owns the funds.

The on-chain vote, which closed Friday afternoon Hong Kong time with more than 90% support, authorizes the release of 30,765 ETH frozen by Arbitrum’s Security Council after the April 18 exploit, when attackers used unbacked rsETH tokens as collateral on Aave to borrow roughly $230 million in ETH from the protocol.

The funds are earmarked for a coordinated industry recovery effort led by Aave, KelpDAO, LayerZero, EtherFi and Compound, aimed at making affected users whole.

But the frozen ether is also at the center of an escalating legal dispute in Manhattan federal court.

Last week, attorney Charles Gerstein, representing families holding roughly $877 million in unpaid terrorism judgments against North Korea, served a restraining notice on Arbitrum DAO claiming the frozen ETH constitutes North Korean property because the exploit has been widely attributed to Pyongyang’s Lazarus Group.

That triggered an emergency legal fight.

Aave moved earlier this week to vacate the restraining notice, arguing the assets belong to innocent users, not North Korea, and warning that continued delays risk “cascading liquidations” and broader instability across decentralized finance markets.

Gerstein fired back Tuesday, arguing the exploit was not theft but fraud, meaning the attackers obtained legal title to the ETH by deceiving Aave’s lending markets with worthless collateral.

Friday’s governance vote does not mean the funds move immediately.

Because the measure was structured as a Constitutional AIP under Arbitrum’s governance framework, the transfer cannot be executed for at least eight days, giving the Manhattan court time to intervene before any ETH moves.

Arbitrum delegates were also not voting blindly to the legal risk. The proposal included indemnification protections for the Arbitrum Foundation, Offchain Labs, Security Council members, and governance delegates against certain claims arising from either freezing or releasing the ETH, underscoring how unusual the stakes around the vote had already become.

Speaking at Consensus Miami this week, Aave Labs Chief Legal and Policy Officer Linda Jeng said the exploit had already forced the protocol to rethink its risk framework, expanding collateral standards beyond financial metrics to include cybersecurity, interoperability, and technical architecture reviews.

Jeng, who worked as a regulator during the 2008 financial crisis, drew a contrast with traditional finance’s taxpayer-backed rescues.

“In the financial crisis, we had to bail out the banks,” she said. “Here, we came together as an ecosystem to bail ourselves out.”

Coinbase (COIN) bulls point to crypto legislation and stablecoins after earnings miss

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Coinbase (COIN) bulls point to crypto legislation and stablecoins after earnings miss

Coinbase’s (COIN) weak first-quarter earnings report sparked another divide on Wall Street over whether the crypto platform is building a more durable business or remains tied to crypto’s boom-and-bust cycles.

Several analysts lowered forecasts after the company missed expectations on revenue and adjusted EBITDA as trading activity slowed across the crypto market. Still, a number of firms argued Coinbase’s expanding stablecoin and derivatives businesses — along with the possible passage of crypto legislation in Washington — could improve the company’s outlook later this year.

JPMorgan said the quarter reflected “a challenging environment” but added that Coinbase had “positioned the company well to operate in an increasingly digital world.”

The bank said pending U.S. crypto legislation “does set up for a better outlook into 2H26 and into 2027” and maintained an overweight rating on the stock.

The legislation in focus is the CLARITY Act, a proposed market structure bill that would establish rules for how crypto assets are regulated in the U.S. The bill aims to define which digital assets fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and which would be overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Coinbase and other crypto firms have argued clearer rules could encourage banks, asset managers and large companies to expand crypto activity.

Coinbase executives told analysts they expect a Senate Banking Committee markup this month, followed by a broader vote later in the summer.

Clear Street also pointed to regulation as a major catalyst.

“We see multiple catalysts ahead and remain constructive on the shares going into 2H26,” the firm wrote, even as it lowered its price target to $107 from $140 following weaker trading volume.

The firm highlighted growth in newer products including prediction markets, which generated more than $100 million in annualized revenue by March, and retail derivatives, which surpassed a $200 million annualized pace.

Oppenheimer said Coinbase’s push beyond spot crypto trading is beginning to show traction.

“Prediction Markets has emerged as one of the fastest growing new products,” the firm wrote, adding that the company’s “Everything Exchange strategy” could support long-term growth. The strategy includes stablecoins, derivatives, payments and tokenized assets alongside traditional crypto trading.

William Blair argued the first quarter may represent the low point of the current cycle.

“If Bitcoin BTC$79,876.65 has bottomed, as we suspect it has, April could be the trough spot volume month of the cycle,” the firm wrote.

The firm also pointed to growth in USDC stablecoin activity and Coinbase’s Base blockchain network as signs the company is becoming more embedded in crypto infrastructure beyond trading fees.

Not all analysts were convinced.

Barclays maintained an Underweight rating and warned that “profitability [is] under pressure” as trading activity continues to weaken. The bank said second-quarter transaction revenue trends remain well below Wall Street expectations.

Compass Point also kept a Sell rating, arguing Coinbase “remains entirely beholden to crypto cycles five years after going public.”

The firm said weaker monthly user activity raised questions about whether newer products are attracting new customers or simply replacing older trading businesses.

Shares of Coinbase are down 3.6% in pre-market trading.

OwlTing Launches Self-Custody Wallet to Bring Regulated Stablecoin Payments to AI Agents

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OwlTing Launches Self-Custody Wallet to Bring Regulated Stablecoin Payments to AI Agents

Blockchain technology company OwlTing Group has officially launched the OwlPay Agent Wallet, a new digital platform designed specifically for artificial intelligence agents.

The innovative service allows AI assistants to autonomously send, receive, and manage stablecoins directly on behalf of their users. For instance, a user can simply instruct their AI agent to pay for an online purchase or send funds internationally, and the agent will independently execute the transaction within the user’s authorized limits.

Bridging the gap in agentic commerce

According to projections by McKinsey & Company, the global agentic commerce market could reach between $3trillion and $5trillion by 2030. However, traditional banking and payment infrastructures were not originally designed to accommodate autonomous software agents. OwlTing is addressing this critical gap by providing a regulated, wallet-based infrastructure that directly connects AI workflows to established stablecoin settlement rails.

The new self-custody wallet gives users full control over their private keys and funds, with credentials securely generated and stored locally on the user’s device. At launch, the wallet supports operations across the Ethereum ecosystem, as well as the Stellar and Solana blockchains. Furthermore, the installation process requires no technical configuration; the wallet features a built-in agent skill that allows major AI assistants to automatically learn how to operate it through natural conversation.

Built on regulated infrastructure
Darren Wang, founder and CEO of OwlTing Group

To ensure these autonomous transactions operate within a compliant framework, OwlTing has applied the same regulated infrastructure that underpins its broader consumer services. This includes leveraging its Money Transmitter Licenses across 40 U.S. states and utilizing its Visa Direct integration, which enables eligible U.S. debit cardholders to fund stablecoin transactions.

Darren Wang, founder and CEO of OwlTing Group, emphasized the importance of this compliant foundation as AI capabilities continue to rapidly expand. He noted that while the technology industry has focused heavily on giving AI the ability to think, OwlTing’s focus is firmly on giving AI the ability to transact under regulated rules. Wang added that every AI agent acting on behalf of a user will eventually require a compliant wallet layer backed by genuine licensing infrastructure, user-controlled custody, and payment rails expressly designed for real-world transactions.

Expanding the financial ecosystem

The introduction of the OwlPay Agent Wallet completes OwlTing’s three-layer financial infrastructure for the emerging agentic economy. This comprehensive ecosystem now includes the OwlPay Stablecoin Checkout for merchants, Visa Direct integration for mainstream consumers, and a dedicated, self-custody wallet tailored for AI agents.

Looking ahead, the NASDAQ-listed company plans to progressively introduce additional capabilities into the new wallet over the coming months. The development roadmap includes support for purchasing and cashing out stablecoins with eligible U.S. debit cards, the integration of further fiat channels, a cross-chain bridge, and expanded blockchain support.

SEC chair Paul Atkins signals rule changes for onchain markets and AI-driven finance

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SEC chair Paul Atkins signals rule changes for onchain markets and AI-driven finance

SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Friday the agency is considering changes to how securities regulations apply to blockchain-based financial markets and AI-powered financial applications, as digital asset firms increasingly move trading and settlement activity onchain.

Speaking at the AI+ Expo in Washington, Atkins said the SEC is considering formal rulemaking around onchain trading systems, blockchain settlement infrastructure, automated financial applications and crypto vaults that increasingly blur the lines between traditional players.

Existing securities rules were designed around traditional market intermediaries such as brokers, exchanges and clearinghouses, he argued, while newer blockchain systems often combine those functions into a single software protocol. Atkins’ predecessor, Gary Gensler, had held a similar view, though he focused more on centralized exchanges that the SEC argued provided those different functions under one roof at the time, mostly through lawsuits.

“A single protocol can execute a trade, manage collateral, route liquidity, execute trading strategies through vault structures and settle the transaction,” Atkins said.

“We should remember that onchain market structures today are often hybrid in nature, combining elements of what are often referred to as ‘traditional’ and ‘decentralized’ finance,” he said. “We should clarify how the Commission views the spectrum of models that may implicate our statutes through notice and comment rulemaking, using our exemptive authorities where necessary and prudent.”

Atkins’ remarks highlighted the latest step in the regulatory agency’s pivot away from the enforcement-heavy approach under former Chair Gary Gensler. Under President Donald Trump’s administartion, the SEC has issued crypto-related staff guidance, no-action reliefs and public statements aimed at reducing legal uncertainty for digital asset firms.

The chair framed the potential changes as part of a broader shift toward an AI-driven and automated financial infrastructure. He argued that artificial intelligence agents will increasingly participate in markets and financial decision-making at machine speed, while blockchain rails allow those systems to move value instantly.

The SEC, he said, should avoid locking emerging technologies into outdated rules.

“Our job is to set the rules of play and referee the game, not to pick the winning team,” Atkins said.

He also reiterated support for congressional efforts to pass crypto market structure legislation, including the CLARITY Act, which would establish a regulatory framework for digital assets shared between the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

ECB Needs Tokenised Money, Not Crypto Stablecoins

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ECB Needs Tokenised Money, Not Crypto Stablecoins

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ECB President Christine Lagarde has pushed back against the idea that Europe should answer dollar crypto stablecoin dominance by promoting euro-denominated stablecoins of its own, arguing instead that the region should build tokenised financial infrastructure anchored in central bank money.

In a speech at the Banco de España LatAm Economic Forum in Roda de Bará, Spain, Lagarde framed stablecoins as one of the fastest-moving policy questions in global finance. The market, she said, has grown from less than $10 billion six years ago to more than $300 billion today, with close to 98% of stablecoins denominated in US dollars and nearly 90% controlled by Tether and Circle.

Lagarde: ECB Must Not Copy US Crypto Stablecoin Model

That concentration has turned crypto stablecoins into more than a crypto-market instrument. In Lagarde’s view, they now sit at the intersection of monetary power, financial stability and tokenised-market infrastructure.

“The growing argument is that to remain relevant, Europe must respond by promoting euro-denominated stablecoins of its own,” Lagarde said. “Otherwise, it faces a future of digital dollaritation and a loss of monetary sovereignty.”

But she argued that this framing misses the central issue. Stablecoins, according to Lagarde, perform two separate functions that are often conflated: a monetary function, by extending the reach of a currency, and a technological function, by acting as the cash leg for settlement on distributed ledger infrastructure.

“The argument I want to develop today is that once we disentangle those two functions, the case for promoting euro-denominated stablecoins is far weaker than it appears,” she said. “And a more fundamental question comes into view: do we actually need stablecoins to obtain the benefits they are said to provide? Or are we mistaking the instrument for the outcome?”

Lagarde acknowledged that stablecoins have become central to crypto settlement and increasingly relevant for cross-border payments, particularly in regions where access to stable currencies is limited. She also noted that dollar-backed stablecoins can reinforce demand for US Treasuries, especially if they become yield-bearing instruments.

That dynamic is now openly part of US policy. Lagarde pointed to the GENIUS Act, which the US administration has described not only as a consumer protection and financial stability measure, but also as a tool to support “the continued global dominance of the U.S. dollar” and strengthen demand for Treasuries.

For Europe, however, Lagarde said the monetary case for euro stablecoins is weak once risks are included. Under MiCAR, euro-denominated stablecoins could create additional demand for euro-area safe assets and marginally extend the euro’s international reach. Yet she argued that the trade-offs would be material.

The first is financial stability. Lagarde cited Circle’s USDC depeg during the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in March 2023, when Circle disclosed that $3.3 billion of USDC reserves were held at the failed bank and the token briefly fell to $0.877.
“The promise of par redemption depends on the very market confidence that can vanish when financial stability deteriorates,” she said. “And a mass redemption can accelerate that deterioration.”

The second risk is monetary policy transmission. If retail deposits migrate into non-bank stablecoins and return to banks as wholesale funding, the ECB’s rate decisions may transmit less effectively through the banking system. Lagarde said this matters particularly in the euro area, where banks remain the dominant source of credit to the real economy.

Her conclusion was blunt: stablecoins are not an efficient way to strengthen the euro’s international role. The better route, she said, is deeper capital-market integration through Europe’s savings and investments union, alongside a safe asset base that matches the euro’s global ambitions.

Where Lagarde was more constructive was on tokenisation itself. She described DLT-based market infrastructure as genuinely transformative, especially for Europe’s fragmented financial system. In 2023, the EU had 295 trading venues, 14 central clearing counterparties and 32 central securities depositories, compared with two clearing houses and one central securities depository in the US.

Stablecoins currently fill the settlement gap in tokenized markets because they provide an on-chain unit of value for atomic settlement. But Lagarde argued that private stablecoins are fragile and fragmented foundations for that role.

The ECB’s answer is public infrastructure. From September, the Eurosystem plans to offer wholesale settlement through the Pontes project, linking DLT platforms to TARGET so transactions can settle in central bank money. Lagarde also pointed to the Appia roadmap, published in March, which aims to support a fully interoperable European tokenised financial ecosystem by 2028.

“Europe knows which port it is sailing to,” Lagarde concluded. “Our task is not to replicate instruments developed elsewhere, but to build the foundations and the infrastructure that serve our own objectives, so that we can harness the benefits of innovation without importing the fragilities.”

At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.64 trillion.

Total crypto market cap
Total crypto market cap faces the 20-month EMA, 1-week chart | Source: TOTAL on TradingView.com

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

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Kraken parent goes for the OCC charter in bid to become a federal crypto bank

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Kraken parent goes for the OCC charter in bid to become a federal crypto bank

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has applied for a national trust company charter with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), according to a Friday announcement shared with CoinDesk, as the company looks to expand its regulated digital-asset custody business.

If approved, the charter would establish Payward National Trust Company (PNTC), a federally regulated entity focused on fiduciary custody and related services for digital assets. Kraken said the trust would primarily serve institutions and customers seeking bank-level custody protections under OCC oversight.

The filing marks Payward’s latest effort to expand its U.S. regulatory footprint as crypto firms increasingly pursue traditional financial charters to attract institutional clients and navigate a shifting regulatory environment.

“A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody,” Payward and Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in the statement.

The move comes as crypto firms increasingly seek federal charters, licenses and banking approvals under the Trump administration’s more industry-friendly approach to digital-asset regulation.

Kraken’s broader expansion strategy has included a string of acquisitions aimed at building regulated trading and payments infrastructure ahead of a potential IPO.

In addition to its $1.5 billion acquisition of retail futures platform NinjaTrader in 2025, Payward agreed in April to acquire crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial for up to $550 million, adding a full suite of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) licenses covering brokerage, clearing and exchange operations.

This week, the company also struck a $600 million deal to buy Hong Kong-based payments firm Reap Technologies, expanding Kraken’s push into stablecoin-powered cross-border payments and card infrastructure in Asia

The proposed trust company would complement Kraken Financial, the Wyoming special purpose depository institution (SPDI) chartered in 2020. Kraken Financial became the first digital-asset bank to secure a Federal Reserve master account, giving it direct access to the U.S. payments system.

Payward framed the OCC application as part of a broader “multi-charter” strategy aimed at offering different types of regulated financial services under both state and federal oversight.

Under the proposal, PNTC would rely on Payward’s existing compliance, risk management and custody infrastructure while expanding access to clients that require a federally regulated qualified custodian.

Crypto firms have increasingly explored bank and trust charters as regulators clarify rules around custody and institutional participation in digital assets. National trust charters, overseen by the OCC, have previously been pursued by crypto-native firms seeking broader legitimacy and nationwide operations without relying solely on state-by-state licensing.

Sethi said the company’s Wyoming SPDI and prospective OCC trust charter would serve “complementary pillars” of Payward’s banking strategy as the U.S. regulatory framework for digital assets continues to evolve.

Read more: Kraken parent Payward closes $550 million Bitnomial deal, securing full CFTC derivatives stack

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